Dimensions (2011 film)

Dimensions, a 2011 science fiction film with a love story at its core, unfolds across the 1920s and 1930s. It marks the feature directorial debut of Sloane U'Ren, who also co-wrote the screenplay with her husband, Ant Neely. The film is sometimes referred to as *Dimensions: A Line, A Loop, A Tangle of Threads*. Its world premiere took place at the 2011 Cambridge Film Festival in the U.K., where it outperformed, on a per-screen basis, the U.K. premieres of *Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy*, *The Help*, and *Midnight in Paris*. Following those screenings, a minor re-edit was done, and the final version was completed in early 2012. The film was named Best Film of 2012 at the 37th Boston Science Fiction Film Festival, receiving the Gort Award—a prize previously won by Duncan Jones' *Moon*. It also took Best Film at both the London Independent Film Festival and the Long Island International Film Expo, where U'Ren additionally won Best Director.

The story follows Stephen, a gifted young scientist living in Cambridge, England, during what seems to be the 1920s. His life changes when he meets a charismatic professor at a garden party. The professor shows Stephen and his friends what existence would be like as one- or two-dimensional beings, then suggests that manipulating dimensions could make time travel possible. Shortly after, Stephen, his cousin Conrad, and their neighbor Victoria are playing near a well. Conrad tosses Victoria's skipping rope down into it. Stephen's mother catches the boys fighting, drags them inside by their ears, and leaves Victoria alone outside. She decides to climb into the well to retrieve her rope—and never comes back out. As Stephen grows up, he becomes obsessed with turning the professor's time-travel theories into reality, while jealousy, love, obsession, temptation, and greed cloud his mind and shape his work.

The cast includes Henry Lloyd-Hughes as Stephen, Camilla Rutherford as Jane, Patrick Godfrey as The Professor, Olivia Llewellyn as Annie, Sean Heart as Conrad, Richard Heffer as Dr. Schmidt, Georgina Rich as Alice, James Greene as Old Man, Sam Harrison as Young Stephen, George Thomas as Young Conrad, and Hannah Carson as Victoria.

U'Ren and Neely had long worked in the film industry—U'Ren as an art director and designer, Neely as a composer and musician—on major Hollywood films and TV productions.