‘2:Hrs’ Stars Harry Jarvis and Ella-Rae Smith Talk ‘Rollercoaster Journey’ of Film

If you only had two hours left to live, how would you spend your time? That is exactly the question that director D. James Newton’s film 2:Hrs sets out to answer. In an exclusive interview with PopCulture.com, stars Harry Jarvis and Ella-Rae Smith opened up about the “rollercoaster journey” of the film and the close connections that they formed behind the scenes.

Set for digital and VOD release on Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2:Hrs spins the tale of three friends whose lives are upturned after a school field trip to London’s Natural History Museum finds them stumbling upon a mad scientist’s invention: The Vitalitron, a futuristic machine that can correctly calculate the amount of time a creature has left to live.

In the film, Jarvis portrays Tim, the “schoolboy slacker” with a knack for graffiti who discovers after stepping into The Vitalitron that he only has two hours left. Smith takes on the role of “tomboy” Vic, who she says is the “sensible one” who acts as the “middle ground” between the group of three friends, which also includes Alhaji Fofana’s Alf.

Together, the trio embark on a mission to complete Tim’s bucket list, an emotional journey that acts as a “catalyst” in his life.

“You’ve got such a rollercoaster journey…You’re always traveling between different storylines,” Jarvis said. “So, wherever you’re taken on the journey, you’re always getting different things, which is why it’s fun, and emotional and a bit of a rollercoaster.”

According to Smith, the “feel-good” film offers plenty of “life lessons” and sees the characters coming closer together as the time on the clock ticks down.

“When you realize you might lose someone, then you want to tell them how much you care about them, and make the most of them, and be honest with them,” she said.

Jarvis added that his character’s “whole journey in the story is to try and rediscover his relationships” and that the film brings up tough questions, like “What’s important? What matters to me?”

The “rollercoaster journey” didn’t just play out on the screen. Behind the scenes, the cast grew increasingly close, and they have plenty of cherished moments on set that the cameras didn’t capture. For both Jarvis and Smith, one of their fondest memories was their trip to the Natural History Museum.

“My favorite thing ever was shooting in the Natural History Museum which is, in my opinion one of the coolest things in London,” Smith said. “We had the whole place to ourselves, it was literally just us in the main hall with Dippy the dinosaur in the middle and it is such a cool experience, just the kind of thing you never do in real life. That was just amazing.”

According to Jarvis, the crew got to “spend the night” at the museum and were allowed into a “discovery room” where rare creatures otherwise not visible to the public were kept. He added that the experience “was kind of like a dream come true.”

The film even had the cast considering what they would do if they only had a short amount of time left, and while both Jarvis and Smith agreed that spending time with family would take priority, they also admitted that a few other items would top the list.

For Smith, she would want to do something “exhilarating,” such as “skydiving” or “bungee jumping,” stating that she’d want her final hours to be a “celebration of my life.” Jarvis said he’d “love to meet my icons,” which currently includes “basically the cast of Once Upon a Time In Hollywood.”

2:Hrs hits digital and VOD on Tuesday, Aug. 6.