'88 Minutes' is like a suspense film
88 Minutes
A college professor, who moonlights as a forensic psychiatrist for the FBI, receives a death threat that says he has only 88 minutes to live. To save his life, he must use all his skills and training to narrow down the possible suspects, which include a disgruntled student, a jilted former lover and a serial killer on death row.
“88 Minutes” is roughly the FOX News equivalent of a suspense film.
That’s not to say I don’t watch Bill O’Reilly from time to time.
Directed by Jon Avnet, this movie sets out to be a thriller, in which Al Pacino plays Dr. Jack Gramm has 88 minutes to stop a person out to murder him.
I’m a firm believer that Pacino is one of the best actors of our time, that he doesn’t make bad movies. In “88 Minutes,” Pacino plays Gramm with the classic coolness he’s known for. However, the language and part itself seem to be written for a much younger male. (Drinks with students, hooking up with students, Porsche, etc.) Still, he’s Pacino, so I’ll go along with it.
Leelee Sobieski plays a pivotal role as Lauren Douglas in the film. The role is demanding and complex, and Sobieski looked like she was playing a demanding and complex role throughout “88 Minutes.” A deep-breath to relax before tally lights turned on could’ve saved her performance, as it was difficult to watching someone who was so evidently “acting.”
On the other hand, cop-drama actresses had great performances in this film. Alicia Witt (“Law and Order: Criminal Intent”) is genuine in this role, bouncing back-and-forth from stable as Gramm’s grad assistant, and unstable, as the ex-girlfriend of a stalker. Amy Brenneman plays Shelly Barnes (you’d recognize her from “Judging Amy” or “Private Practice”) who has the best dialogue in the film, but seems also too-well-spoken and stately to be Pacino’s assistant.
One obvious failure in writing came from the obnoxious attempt to get a catch-phrase out of the film, as “Tick tock, tick tick tock” was repeated at every opportunity. Not every opportunity, like five times, but every opportunity, like 88 times. (Oh, and the film’s official Web site loads with the phrase, just to drive the effort home.) To add further “scary” effect to it, they use the same voice scrambler as “Saw.”
A note: I’m very certain the gruzzlied-up doorguy was Christian Bale, but the credits and IMDB don’t have any information on that role. Maybe Bale isn’t the star I thought he was — I’ve had a crush since “Newsies” — but Internet film forums are remarkably quiet on this topic.
Other reviews for “88 Minutes” came down hard on this film. In the world of suspense, it’s pretty sensational with the amount of gore, violence and explosions. Calling this suspense may actually be disrespectful to it’s king, Alfred Hitchcock.
Still, the storyline is an enjoyable watch – even if it’s far-fetched. “88 Minutes” is better than most films out right now. And any time Pacino wants to teach any of my classes, I’m down.
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