28 from Glasgow, love films - so you'll probably only ever see me write about them lol
28 from Glasgow, love films - so you'll probably only ever see me write about them lol
Member since:08.03.2004
Reviews:116
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In his last umpteen films, I've found Al Pacino supremely irritating. Its been years since he done a film worthy of his early talent, and its been even longer since he done a film where he didn't spend the entire time shouting his way through his lines. Maybe the old fella has become a bit deaf. It was surprising then that I found his performance in 88 minutes a slight return to form, even if the film itself wasn't entirely fantastic. In it, Pacino plays a forensic doctor who lectures at the local university. He is a highly regarded expert in his field and is often called upon to give his expert opinion on murder cases.
The film opens 9 years in the past, where Doctor Jack Gramm assists in the conviction of a man who is accused of attacking twin sisters. Whilst one of the sisters died, the other manages to escape with relatively few surface scares. She becomes an unreliable eye witness in the court proceedings, assisting in the conviction of her sister's accused killer. After the accused, Jon Forster, is sentenced to death and locked away, we are forwarded to the present day. Gramm is called upon once again
when the murders begin again. The method in which the victims are trussed up with rope and sliced to death is exactly the same as the original victim. Gramm is convinced that it is a copycat and not the same killer. After all, Forster is still locked away and awaiting execution. However, a few other powers cast doubt over the conviction and indeed, the good doctor's testimony. As Gramm heads to the campus where he lectures, he receives a call telling him that he has 88 minutes to live, hence the title of the film. Gramm is shaken up by the call, as it is revealed that the 88 minute threat relates to the death of his young sister.
Meanwhile Forster is whipping up a media frenzy, continuing to profess his innocence. The only problem is that he is running out of time, his execution is scheduled for midnight that night. On TV, he challenges Gramm to step up and face him with his false testimony. Gramm is convinced of Forster's guilt though and continues to refuse to hear anything that remotely refutes the man's guilt. Could it be that Forster is in fact innocent and that somebody framed him for the murders? During the course of the next hour, a phenomenal amount of events transpire, including the continuous phone threats, an ominous figure in black leather, the attack on a number of his pupils, an ever rising body count and revelations about various of the main characters in the film. In context of the film, they all make perfect sense, but taken with the view that they all happen in little over an hour, it all becomes completely unviable. If you think too much about it, you could start to pick it apart. Dumb yourself down and you'll find this a riveting 88 minutes.
Pacino is truly on form in this film, giving an intense performance as Gramm, but plays it close to the knuckle enough to allow his younger co-stars to have their moment. Equally intense, but given too little screen time is the always frightening Neal McDonough. Its not a wonder that he always gets the baddie parts, he looks like a right bad mad. Although, his part doesn't deviate much from his recent turn as psycho Dave Williams in Desperate Housewives. He should have gotten more to do, and in fact only plays a part in the initial setting up of the plot and in its unravelling.
The worst performance comes from Leelee Sobieski. The only interesting thing about that actress is her name. She hams it up, because quite frankly she isn't charismatic enough in persona or looks to give the part any conviction. I've always thought she was rather hatchet-faced, and with a bit of weight on, she is even less attractive. That wouldn't be an issue if she were a superb or even functional actress, but unfortunately, she's dull, vacuous and completely lacking in anything remotely close to Pacino or McDonough's talent. Its just a surprise then that they gave her some of the best moments in the film. There are various other familiar faces with Alicia Witt and William Forsyth turning out for support. Witt is decent enough, but she is an actress suited to the horror genre and nothing much else. The funny thing about her though is she never seems to age, and has been playing early twenty-somethings for at least a decade now.
The action is fast paced and well worth the watch, even if the violence and the murder scene's are brutal and often tasteless. Director Jon Avnet is almost voyeuristic when creating the murder sequences. However, where he oversteps the boundaries only occasionally, he also gets the action note perfect. The film also has a couple of continuity issues. At one point, a taxi driver is asked to wait outside the taxi while Pacino and his protégé have a discussion, but when they both exit the taxi, the driver is nowhere to be seen. Only in good old America would a taxi driver even let you drive his cab let alone get out to let you have a private confab. With all of that in mind, its thankful that the film's action is cranked up to full volume with cars exploding and full blown shoot outs, because without the loud volume and Pacino, this wouldn't have been anywhere near as good. I'm a re-affirmed fan of the man. Lets hope he keeps the gravely voice to a moderate volume from here on in.
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Production Year: 2002 - Thriller - Director: Bharat Nalluri, Rob Bailey, Andy Wilson - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Matthew MacFadyen, Keeley Hawes, David Oyelowo, Peter Firth, Jenny Agutter, Lisa Faulkner
Thriller - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Timothy West, Neil Morrissey, Tara Fitzgerald, Annette Crosbie, Pauline Quirke, Rob Brydon, Denise Van Outen, John Thomson, Kevin Whately, David Suchet
Sep 23rd, 2009
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