Movie Review for 88 Minutes (2008)

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Review #635 of 365
Movie Review of 88 Minutes (2008) [R] 108 minutes
WIP™ Scale: $13.00
Where Viewed: United Artists Denver Pavilions Stadium 15, Denver, CO
When Seen: 20 April 2008
Time: 5:55 pm
DVD Release Date: 16 September 2008 (click date to purchase or pre-order)
Film's Official Website • Film's Trailer

Directed by: Jon Avnet ("Boomtown")
Written by: Gary Scott Thompson (Hollow Man II )

Featured Cast (Where You Might Remember Him/Her From):
Al Pacino (Ocean's Thirteen) • Alicia Witt (Last Holiday) • Leelee Sobieski (In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale ) • Amy Brenneman (The Jane Austen Book Club) • William Forsythe (Halloween) • Deborah Kara Unger (Silent Hill) • Benjamin McKenzie ("The O.C.") • Neal McDonough (The Hitcher) • Leah Cairns ("Kyle XY") • Stephen Moyer (Ravenswood)

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Exceptionally taught, the psychological thriller 88 Minutes proves a lot of things about the great Al Pacino—he's still got it: he can run like the dickens at age 68, he can woo women 1/3 his age, and no matter how crazy his hair looks, he manages to look suave not scatter-brained. Held up seemingly forever in release date limbo, this Jon Avnet directed tribute to cell phone technology and forensic psychiatry run amok has a running time of 108 minutes despite that which might be teased by the title. Just when Dr. Jack Gramm's life couldn't get any more complicated, the illustrious professor (Al Pacino) receives a call from an anonymous caller indicating he has but 88 minutes to live. This after he's just been told and potentially implicated in a copy-cat murder executed in the precise fashion of a serial murderer and rapist named Jon Forster (Neal McDonough) his expert testimony helped put away for life and on to a potential death sentence.
Exceptionally taught…works on multiple levels as a heart-pounding, unnerving, psychological thriller
As his life over the next 88 minutes of the film unfolds (sort in the same way things happen in the hit Fox television show "24" the film switches to a near real-time approach although there's no physically plausible way that this much could transpire in 88 minutes or less in Seattle where it can take 2 hours just to get across town during rush hour. Still, the idea is intriguing and unfolds in such as way as to constantly keep one guessing as to who dunnit to whom, how, when, and why.

During those 88 minutes and before, we are given insight into Jack's dual life of professor and freelance consultant for the FBI. In his collegiate world, he's built up a guru-like following of dedicated student Jack Gramm wannabes including: his research assistant of two years, Kim Cummings (Alicia Witt); the suspicious and overly eager Mike Stempt (Benjamin McKenzie), and former law student turned medical student Lauren Douglas (Leelee Sobieski). They eagerly await his every word in lecture providing him with the core of his analysis team when he's called up on by the FBI to get inside the mind and build the case against a serial killer. Having interviewed all of the biggest names from John Wayne Gacy to Ted Bundy, Gramm is considered one of the foremost expert on the minds of serial criminals be they rapists, murderers, or both prompting the FBI to secure his talents for big dollars and lots of legal latitude. In that realm, he runs a private consulting firm where is right hand is the brilliantly organized multi-tasking Shelly Barnes (Amy Brenneman). His nearly personal FBI contact is Special Agent Frank Parks (William Forsythe) who keep him 'in check' while running around getting him spontaneous search warrants and arresting suspects on Gramm's suspicions alone. In the academic realm, his watchdog and confidant is Dean Carol Johnson (Deborah Kara Unger) with whom he's clearly got more than casual history. Nine years previously, Jack's team then worked tirelessly on the conviction and eventual death sentencing of Jon Forster for his crimes as the infamous Seattle Slayer known for rigging up his female victims upside down and draining their bodily fluids in a slow and painful death. Just hours before his planned state execution, though, is when Jack's world literally starts to crack open before his eyes when he receives that first chilling phone call informing him of his impending death in the mere 88 minutes.

Without a doubt, the stylistic film straps you in and takes you on a surprisingly engaging ride with countless twists and turns. Unlike similar films, this one provides the necessary clues to figure out what's really going on but only, perhaps, to the very observant and well-trained mind. Mr. Pacino's performance is pure adrenalin with panache. Gramm is the chief focus of the film, and he's onscreen 99% of the time. He doesn't disappoint as he creates this incredibly complicated character who knows when to take the time to delve more deeply into his own psyche to advance not just his own investigation but the story itself. This performance may be one of his most personal in revealing the many facets of his talents in a very genuine way. While the rest of the characters become pawns in a larger game at work, this doesn't prevent most from reflecting back some of Pacino's luminosity.

…Pacino's performance is pure adrenalin with panache.
Chiefly among the winners in this light were Alicia Witt who plays the research assistant with way too much adoration for her mentor, Amy Brenneman who plays the only real woman in Jack's life (and she's a lesbian), and Neal McDonough who seems to thrive on character roles (chiefly bad guys) who though seen mostly on tv manages to deliver a compelling and entirely creepy yet captivating performance. Weaker, unfortunately, were the performances of Benjamin McKenzie partly because the role was more cardboard but partly because he overplays the less important character rather than just fitting into it and Leelee Sobieski whose pivotal role she simply doesn't seem to carry convincingly which, unfortunately, does damage the film's overall effectiveness unfortunately. If a project is only as good as its weakest link, well, it was paramount for the role of Lauren Douglas to be played by someone with a higher crafty quotient. Ms Sobieski despite having aged beautifully still looks, sounds, and acts too much like America's sweetheart.

88 Minutes, chief casting problem aside, still rises above and works on multiple levels as a heart-pounding, unnerving, psychological thriller. This kind of film is one that used to be the mainstay of the 1980s and early 90s when it came to dramas that kind of disappeared in favor of thrillers that lack true soul, inspiration, and mind games for the audience.

…works on multiple levels as a heart-pounding, unnerving, psychological thriller.
So, it's easy to welcome this return and give kudos to Jon Avnet and Gary Scott Tompson of a more mentally challenging film as opposed to Hannibal Lecter style films where we know the villain and the 'fun' is just in watching the killer be caught.

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Cast Members
Al Pacino • Alicia Witt • Leelee Sobieski
Amy Brenneman • William Forsythe • Deborah Kara Unger
Benjamin McKenzie • Neal McDonough • Leah Cairns
Stephen Moyer
Director
Jon Avnet
Writer
Gary Scott Thompson
DVD
VHS
Review-lite 88 Minutes (2008) [max of 88 words]
Exceptionally taught, the psychological thriller 88 Minutes proves Al Pacino's still got it. Held up seemingly forever in release date limbo, this Jon Avnet directed tribute to cell phone technology and forensic psychiatry run amok introduces us to Dr. Jack Gramm, an illustrious professor (Al Pacino) who receives an anonymous call indicating he has but 88 minutes to live. The film works on multiple levels as a heart-pounding, unnerving, psychological thriller in a return to the mainstay style of the great thrillers of the 1980s and early 90s.
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