Time Code 2000 (15) Mike Figgis, 2000, US (97mins) Salma Hayek, Jeanne Tripplehorne, Saffron Burrows, Glenne Headly, Holly Hunter, Stellan Skarsgard, Klye MacLachen. Thurs 26. Cornerhouse.

AFTER Leaving Las Vegas, Mike Figgis strayed increasingly into the realms of experimental cinema. Shot on four handheld digital cameras, Time Code is essentially a single drama presented in four équadrantsé - each devoted to a different, proximate, location.

Each quadrant comprises a single, unedited, 93-minute take. All four were shot simultaneously, with characters occasionally crossing from one field to the other as the story unfolds.

Got it? Oh, and just in case thatés too much safety net for you, Figgis had the actors improvise over the given storyline.

As you might imagine, the format isnét tailormade for pulsating drama. Instead, we get a kind of freewheeling Hollywood satire, centred around the intrigues within a movie production house.

Though intermittently engaging, the appeal lies more with the method than with the content (ités what they used to call a éprocess movieé, donét you know?) But at least it comes with built-in self-parody - Hunterés movie pitch is an exact simulcrum of the filmés own method.

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