Deja Vu is the cleverest time travel movie I think I've ever seen. What's that - you disagree? Let me explain. At great length & With Spoilers. →[More:] So, initially, when it all started going a bit Star Trek, it played out pretty much with the usual "Do we create a branched and different reality" or "have the changes we've made by tampering with the past already played out in our current timeline" dichotomy. The audience is kept hoping that it's the former even though all evidence up until the last ten minutes points to the latter.

At first when the past was changed and the ferry was saved I was outraged. The "you can't change the past" policy that was cruical to the plot (partner being killed causes girl to be kidnapped) was ripped up and they just went with a "future denzil saves the children." at the last minute. Lame.

Now I don't think that's what happened at all, and I think this is why it's such a fantastic brain-bending film.

This is what I think happened. Pardon if I lose anyone, or if I'm just saying what is obvious to the world.

a) Terrorist blows up boat with own truck. Time Travellers inc hire denzil (and his still alive partner) who works out where the terrorist will be and sends a letter to the past. This causes ...

b) (Timeline Number 2) Partner gets letter from Denzil and tries to stop terrorist on his own; Terrorist shoots partner, kidnaps the girl, chops her fingers off, burns her and uses her truck to blow up the boat. Time Travellers inc hire Denzil who works out where the terrorist will be and sends a letter to the past. They see the partner being killed. They also follow up on the girl. Denzil goes into the past and tries to save the girl. He gets killed after crashing the ambulance into the house. This leads to ...

c) Timeline No 3. All is the same until the ambulance. He knows that the ambulance crashes into the house, and this stops him being killed. He leaves the fingerprints and the rags and the message. He leaves her in the house and tries and stop the terrorist but she's recaptured and burnt and he is unsuccessful. This leads to ...

d) timeline Number 4. All is the same until he gets to the house. He realises that it's all happening again and he thinks (incorrectly) that he can't do anything. He tries though. He takes the girl to the ferry, kills the guy and saves the children. The End.

I'm trying to work out if the film actually shows multiple timelines. i.e. it starts on the original timeline and then bifurcates to the next at each point of dissonance. This would make sense. Or if the film just shows the final timeline.

Either way, this is a way to explain what appeared to be "gaping plot holes."

I was wondering if I was just explaining my way out of these plot holes, but I don't think so. There's a point where Denzil goes into the time machine and he says "You can be wrong a million times, but you only have to be right once." I think this is the crux of the entire film. They have been wrong a million times, but being wrong sends Denzil back into the past. This won't change until he gets it right.

In that sense, it's a perfect movie. There is no ending to the story other than the happy ending. Until that happy ending happens, Denzil will keep getting sent back in time. The happy ending is an inevitability.

And that is why I think Deja Vu is one of the cleverest time travel movies I've ever seen.