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Rewind (2013) movie poster

Characters & Themes

Rewind (2013) Characters, Setting & Themes Explained

Release, runtime and language
2013 · 76 mins · English
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Directed by
Jack Bender
Starring
David Cronenberg, Robbie Jones, Shane McRae, Jeff Fahey, Kenneth Welsh, Melanie Scrofano

A team of military operatives and scientists utilize experimental time travel technology to journey into the past. Their mission is to prevent a catastrophic terrorist attack and reshape the future. Originally produced as a feature-length pilot for a television series, it was released as a made-for-TV movie.

On this page (7)
  1. 1 Where to watch
  2. 2 Characters explained (17)
  3. 3 Where & when it takes place
  4. 4 Themes & meaning (3)
  5. 5 Character & meaning questions
  6. 6 Movie threads
  7. 7 Every angle
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17 main characters · contains spoilers

Rewind Characters Explained: Who Is Who

The main characters of Rewind (2013), heroes and villains: what drives them, how they change over the course of the story and what each of them reveals about the film's bigger ideas.

  • Shaun Knox (Shane McRae)

    A determined, grief-stricken man who believes saving millions justifies bent rules and dangerous experiments. He clings to the memory of his late wife and becomes obsessed with extracting a path to her return.

    • ⏳ Protagonist
    • 💔 Grief
    • 🧭 Time traveler
  • Danny Gates (Robbie Jones)

    A practical, protective ally who navigates the mission with caution. He provides a stabilizing voice and a willingness to take risks for Shaun’s goals and Jess’s safety.

    • 🤝 Ally
    • 🚗 Driver
    • 🧭 Moral compass
  • Jessica Knox (Jess) (Melanie Scrofano)

    Shaun’s wife, a central motivation and emotional anchor. She embodies resilience as danger surrounds her, and her safety becomes a rallying point for the team's actions.

    • ❤️ Love
    • 🧭 Motivation
    • 🕊️ Hope
  • Dr. Benjamin Rourke (David Cronenberg)

    A renowned scientist whose work with the time-window drives the plot. His true motives remain enigmatic as the team relies on his discoveries to attempt saving New York.

    • 🔬 Scientist
    • 🧩 Mystery
    • 💥 Catalyst
  • Lyndsay Bryce (Jennifer Ferrin)

    A scientific adviser who balances ethics with urgency, guiding the team through historical timelines and debating the risks of altering the past.

    • 🧠 Advisor
    • 🔬 Ethicist
    • 🕊️ Mediator
  • Priya (Keisha Castle-Hughes)

    An information analyst who curates history periods, taboos, and costumes to help the team navigate the past safely.

    • 🧠 Researcher
    • 🗺️ Timeline navigator
    • 🧭 Guide
  • Charlie (Keon Alexander)

    A tech specialist who designs the program to calculate the effects of changes, balancing ambition with caution to preserve the timeline.

    • 💻 Technician
    • 🧭 Strategist
    • 🧠 Engineer
  • Marsden (Chris Ratz)

    A wary operations figure connected to the time-window apparatus; he also plays a protective role toward the younger characters and witnesses the mission’s stakes.

    • 🕵️‍♂️ Witness
    • 🧭 Temporal navigator
    • 💼 Protector
  • Jenny Marsden (Skyler Wexler)

    Marsden’s younger sister, a symbol of the human costs behind time travel and a reminder of why the mission’s risks matter.

    • 👧 Child
    • 🧭 Human cost
    • 💖 Family
  • Ellis (Jeff Fahey)

    A military-administrative figure who weighs civilian risk against national security, navigating political pressure as the clock ticks.

    • 🏛️ Authority
    • 🧭 Strategist
    • ⏱️ Urgency
  • President (Kenneth Welsh)

    The head of state aware of the threat, whose decisions bind political action to the city’s fate and the mission’s timeline.

    • 🏛️ Leader
    • 🗳️ Politics
    • 🕰️ Timely decisions
  • John Malcolm (Matthew Bennett)

    A specialist soldier on the mission, whose combat discipline supports the team as they navigate the dangers of time travel.

    • 🗡️ Soldier
    • 🧭 Team player
    • 🧩 Specialist
  • General Randell Webb (Paulino Nunes)

    A senior military figure who weighs civilian costs against national security needs, often pushing for decisive action.

    • 🎖️ General
    • 🧭 Decision-maker
    • 🧯 Pressure
  • Chief (Robert B. Kennedy)

    A high-level security official handling protocols and the flow of information during the crisis.

    • 🛡️ Authority
    • 🧭 Policy maker
    • 🗝️ Gatekeeper
  • Secretary of State (Rosemary Dunsmore)

    A diplomatic voice in the crisis, communicating government strategy and maintaining public confidence.

    • 🕊️ Diplomacy
    • 🧭 Public affairs
    • 🗣️ Messenger
  • Agent #1 (Jamaal Grant)

    A field agent involved in the investigation and operations surrounding the crisis.

    • 🕵️‍♂️ Field agent
    • 🧭 Operative
  • Agent #2 (Chris Violette)

    An agent assisting with the security operations and the timeline's manipulation.

    • 🕵️ Field agent
    • 🧭 Operative

Last updated: October 01, 2025 at 10:02

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Setting

Where and When Does Rewind Take Place?

The setting of Rewind (2013): the year and time period, the places and locations, and how they shape the characters, the mood and the tension of the story.

Time period

Present day, with excursions into 1929, 1934 and 1975

The story starts in a contemporary New York setting and uses a time-window device to visit past eras. It drops characters into Washington in 1929, England in 1934, and a mid-1970s timeframe to observe how past events shape the present. The shifting timelines drive the plot and create urgency as the future of New York hangs in the balance.

Location

Midtown Manhattan, New York, Washington, D.C., England

The narrative unfolds around a bomb threat in Midtown Manhattan, anchoring the action in a dense urban core. Time-window technology also leads characters through tense scenes in Washington, D.C. and across historical England, highlighting a global stage for the crisis. The places act as stages for moral choices and the consequences of tampering with time.

  • 🏙️ Urban density
  • 🌍 Global stakes

Last updated: October 01, 2025 at 10:02

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3 major themes

Rewind Meaning: Themes & Message Explained

What is Rewind (2013) really about? The emotional, social and philosophical themes the film keeps returning to, its symbolism and the message beneath the surface.

  • Time and Consequence

    Time travel drives the plot and exposes how even small changes can ripple across eras. The team must weigh the benefits of saving millions against potentially catastrophic alterations to history. The film foregrounds cause and effect as a central ethical tension.

  • Love and Sacrifice

    Personal relationships propel the mission: Shaun’s grief over his wife and Jess’s safety motivate risky choices. Characters grapple with love’s power to justify dangerous acts and the cost of survival. Sacrifice becomes the price of attempting to rewrite fate.

  • Ethics of Technology

    The time-window device is a brilliant but dangerous tool, prompting debates about meddling with history for national or personal gain. Military and political leaders push for use despite unknown downstream effects. The story asks whether knowledge should be used when it can erase or end lives.

Last updated: October 01, 2025 at 10:02

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Character & theme questions

Rewind Characters & Meaning: Your Questions Answered

The questions people ask about Rewind (2013): who the characters really are, their relationships, what the symbols mean, where it takes place and what the movie is really about. Each answer contains spoilers.

Q1

Where is the story primarily set?

The main action unfolds in Midtown Manhattan, where a bomb threat creates the central crisis. The story also takes characters to Washington, D.C. and historical England, expanding the scope beyond the urban core.

  • manhattan
  • new york
  • washington
  • england
  • setting
  • locations
Q2

What time periods does the time travel visit?

The time-window technology sends characters to multiple eras: Washington in 1929, England in 1934, and the mid-1970s. These historical excursions are used to observe how past events shape the present crisis.

  • time travel
  • 1929
  • 1934
  • 1975
  • historical timelines
  • past
Q3

What is the time-window device?

The time-window is an experimental technology developed by Dr. Benjamin Rourke that allows characters to travel through time. It serves as both a brilliant scientific achievement and a dangerous tool that raises ethical questions about tampering with history.

  • time-window
  • time travel device
  • science
  • technology
  • experiment
Q4

What is the Time and Consequence theme about?

Time travel drives the plot and exposes how even small changes can ripple across eras. The team must weigh the benefits of saving millions against potentially catastrophic alterations to history. Cause and effect becomes the central ethical tension.

  • time travel
  • consequences
  • cause effect
  • ethics
  • ripple effects
Q5

What role does Love and Sacrifice play in the story?

Personal relationships propel the mission: Shaun's grief over his wife and Jess's safety motivate risky choices. Characters grapple with love's power to justify dangerous acts and the cost of survival. Sacrifice becomes the price of attempting to rewrite fate.

  • love
  • sacrifice
  • grief
  • marriage
  • loss
  • redemption
Q6

What does the Ethics of Technology theme explore?

The time-window device prompts debates about meddling with history for national or personal gain. Military and political leaders push for its use despite unknown downstream effects. The story asks whether knowledge should be used when it can erase or end lives.

  • ethics
  • technology
  • history
  • government
  • military
  • responsibility
Q7

Who is Shaun Knox and what drives him?

Shaun Knox is a determined, grief-stricken man who believes saving millions justifies bent rules and dangerous experiments. He clings to the memory of his late wife and becomes obsessed with finding a path to her return, making personal redemption inseparable from the mission's success.

  • shaun knox
  • protagonist
  • grief
  • motivation
  • obsession
Q8

Who is Jessica Knox and what is her role?

Jessica (Jess) Knox is Shaun's wife and serves as the central emotional anchor of the story. She embodies resilience as danger surrounds her, and her safety becomes a rallying point that motivates the team's actions throughout the crisis.

  • jess knox
  • wife
  • emotional anchor
  • resilience
  • supporting character
Q9

Who is Dr. Benjamin Rourke?

Dr. Benjamin Rourke is the renowned scientist whose work with the time-window drives the entire plot. His true motives remain enigmatic as the team relies on his discoveries to attempt saving New York, blending scientific brilliance with moral ambiguity.

  • dr rourke
  • scientist
  • time-window inventor
  • mystery
  • creator
Q10

What are the stakes of the mission?

The mission centers on preventing a catastrophic terrorist attack in Midtown Manhattan that could kill millions. The team uses time travel to reshape the future, but their interventions carry the weight of potentially catastrophic alterations to history. The future of New York hangs in the balance.

  • bomb threat
  • manhattan
  • catastrophe
  • terrorist attack
  • new york
  • millions
Q11

Why is the time travel morally complex?

The story presents time travel not as a simple solution but as a tool with dangerous consequences. Characters debate whether knowledge should be used when it can erase or end lives. Military and political pressure clashes with ethical concerns about altering the timeline, creating difficult choices with no clear right answers.

  • moral complexity
  • choices
  • ethics
  • debate
  • timeline manipulation
  • danger

Movie threads

More Movies Like Rewind, by Mood & Story

Curated lists built around what makes Rewind tick: the same mood, the same kind of story or the same emotional payoff. Each list explains why these movies belong together.

Time travel thrillers with urgent missions like Rewind

Races against time to rewrite history and prevent global catastrophe. If you liked the high-stakes time travel mission in Rewind, you'll enjoy these movies where teams or individuals race against the clock to prevent disaster. They share a tense, fast-paced atmosphere and explore the heavy responsibility of changing history.

  • urgent
  • suspenseful
  • high-stakes
  • tense
  • anxious
  • race against time
  • Tone: tense, urgent, high-stakes
  • Pacing: fast, relentless
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The narrative typically follows a clear, linear mission: identify a past catastrophic event, travel back to stop it, and navigate unforeseen consequences. The journey is a procedural race against time, often with technological limitations and moral dilemmas complicating the straightforward goal.

Why they belong together: Movies are grouped here based on their shared core premise of a time-critical intervention, a tense and fast-paced tone driven by a clear threat, and the exploration of scientific and ethical implications of altering history.

Sci-fi thrillers with bittersweet endings like Rewind

Stories where stopping a disaster comes with a heavy, uncertain price. For viewers who appreciated the complex, uncertain victory in Rewind, this list features movies where saving the day leaves deep scars. These stories explore the heavy cost of heroism in high-concept scenarios, blending relief with reflection.

  • bittersweet
  • tense
  • reflective
  • high-stakes
  • moral dilemma
  • cost of victory
  • Tone: tense, bittersweet, reflective
  • Pacing: fast, with a contemplative end
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The narrative arc follows a successful mission against a major threat, but the resolution deliberately undermines a purely happy ending. Instead, it highlights the sacrifices made, the ethical lines crossed, or the instability of the new status quo, leaving the characters and the audience with a mix of accomplishment and unease.

Why they belong together: This thread connects films that share a specific emotional conclusion: a successful outcome that feels incomplete or costly. The unifying element is the blend of narrative resolution with emotional or thematic ambiguity, creating a reflective and thought-provoking end to a tense story.

Every angle

Rewind (2013) Explained: Plot, Timeline & Characters

Everything about Rewind in one place: what happens in the plot summary, the timeline in chronological order, the characters and meaning and a spoiler-free summary. What's After the Movie adds the cast, box office and post-credit scenes.

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