That’s right, age 104. The premise of the film is that a boy is inexplicably born with a condition that causes him to age four years every hour; in other words, he’ll die within a day. A nurse, Jess, skillfully acted by Yale MFA grad Baize Buzan, kidnaps the child to ensure he gets the chance to experience the world outside of a hospital ward. From there Tom of Your Life is part road-trip movie, a leisurely drive through rural Wisconsin (farms! autumn leaves! a diner!) toward Chicago and its sights (the Chicago Architecture Center boat tour and the el among them), Tom speeding through the years such that by the time they hit the city, he’s past adolescence and sporting a paunch.
The lead is played by four actors at different stages in life, young Judah Abner Paul most winsomely as a curious eight-year-old, and Sklar himself as a rapidly aging schlub with a heart of gold. The special effects makeup (by David Ian Grant) that takes Tom through death is accomplished enough to compare with the faux oldsters in Scorcese’s The Irishman, and the cinematography (by Christopher Rejano) and sound, a particular obsession of Sklar’s, are impressive, all the more so for a project made on a shoestring budget of about $150,000.
Tom of Your Life makes its local premiere at the Music Box tonight, May 7, at 7 PM and runs at multiple times through Thursday, May 13, with a prescreening party (cash bar) for advance ticket holders on Saturday beginning at 5:45 prior to the 7 PM showing. It’s $11, online reservations required. v
