88 Minutes (2007)
"Jack Gramm has eighty-eight minutes to solve a murder. His Own"
"Deborah Kara Unger makes the most sinister impression per minute of screen time" - Empire "The movie works like a charm" - Village Voice
Director - John Avnet
Writer - Gary Scott Thompson
Cast - Al Pacino, Alicia Witt, Leelee Sobieski, Amy Brenneman, Deborah Kara Unger, Neil McDonough
Millennium Pictures
Equity Pictures
Thriller is a great word, much like elongate or Toot. It flows from your mouth into the ears of all those who just happen to be listening. Even the late Michael Jackson must have known it was a great word, his most popular tune was called "Thriller". When it come to films though, Thriller turns out to be a hit or miss. I like Thrillers; it's a fantastic genre. The Ninth Gate (1999), Stigmata (1999) & North by Northwest (1959) were all very in-depth and were all indeed very Thrilling. For those who don't know what exactly a thriller is, here's a lovely definition. A thriller is a book, film, play, etc...Depicting crime, mystery or espionage in an atmosphere of excitement & suspense. I'm sure you can now name a few from memory or with the thanks of Google, but if I were to choose a credit crunch beating Thriller, 88 Minutes would be near the top of my list. Hey, I can't give you the good stuff so soon into my writing career, I have to keep something back to wow those marvellous people at Empire.
What would you do if you received a phone call saying you only had 88 minutes to live? Jack Gramm (Al Pacino) is a forensic psychiatrist and college tutor in Seattle who just happens to be in that situation. After successfully putting a murderer and rapist behind bars (Neil McDonough) 9 years ago, Jack is now under fire after a wave of copycat murders crop up all over the city. Could he have got it wrong all those years ago? Did he put an innocent man behind bars? With the rest of the force watching and his own students doubting him, can Jack save his own life. Time's running out. Tick-Toc Do...Tick-Toc.
Everybody who's anybody has heard of Mr. Al Pacino, even hermits probably know who he is. Some of them must have seen Scarface (1983) in there many years of nothing to do but wonder whether or not their life choice was a sound one. I liked Scarface but I do honestly believe that his acting talent has grown with age and now as a gentleman of the bus pass variety, he can sit back and enjoy life but he decides not to. Jack Gramm wouldn't have been such a high impact character if somebody else were behind the wheel. Pacino adds a sly yet reassuring aura to a character that is hard to work out even in the final, edge of your seat moment. Red haired firecracker Alicia Witt makes an appearance as the oddly suitable sidekick, Kim. Kim isn't the love interest, she could be very easily but it would spoil the urgency off the film, which is what makes the film so attractive.
The film has a runtime of 103 minutes, just about the perfect length for modern day attention spans. What make this so important is that the film itself contains a storyline that is 88 minutes long, which is actually very important to the speedy subplot. The time between Jack receiving the phonecall and the very end of the credits is 88 minutes. I love useless trivia.
88 Minutes brings together a concoction of fast paced crime drama and psychological mind screw. I can see the character of Jack Gramm fitting in on some sort of crime or medical drama, I would love him to appear on House M.D, Hugh Laurie and Al Pacino would make my life complete. The clichéd crime solving isn't a bore, it is loose enough to allow the classic front room favourite, "Who did it?” Trust me, it's not the easiest to work out if you don't stay on the ball.
Thriller is a great word, much like coagulate or antelope. The lonely credit crunch evenings need a bit of a thrill, especially as the winter is coming upon us fast. 88 Minutes can easily be described by the classic movie clichés...but I can't be bothered to write them. Check it out.
Big Al's Score: 8/10
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