88 Minutes
By Ryan Craggs
Going into a press screening of an Al Pacino film, I had only seen the trailer and a brief synopsis on IMDB. That said, I expected an intense character study out of the film’s star—this is Al Pacino, after all.
The story goes something like this: Pacino portrays Dr. Jack Gramm, a forensic psychologist living in Seattle. Nearly ten years prior, Gramm’s testimony played a crucial role in finding Jon Forster (Neal McDonough) guilty in a string of serial murders. A lack of physical evidence made Gramm’s testimony all that much more important. The crux of the film take place today, the day of Forster’s execution.
Gramm receives a phone call telling him he has 88 minutes to live, hence the title. The majority of the film finds Gramm running around, trying to find out who made the call and how that person plans to kill him. In the meantime, Forster seeks a stay of execution, claiming innocence.
The premise alone makes the film a thriller, but at the same time it’s one of its shortcomings. It’s gimmicky, having only 88 minutes to solve this mystery, and at times it seems that Gramm isn’t as focused as one would be with under an hour and a half to live. The cast itself is well rounded, with a few familiar faces, but somehow every woman in Gramm’s life is beautiful. At times, the dialogue is stiff and sounds contrived, especially when Kim (Alicia Witt) talks to Gramm. It’s also curious why Special Agent Frank Parks, played by William Forsythe, disappears throughout most of the film. It would make more sense for an FBI agent to help with some of the legwork.
Pacino portrays a bombastic, egotistical character, a part he pulls off with ease; larger-than-life characters are his specialty. The problem is that we know this is a man approaching 70 in real life, and seeing him run around to take on the world is a little tough to swallow. Action films shouldn’t be his forte at this point. A scene where Gramm clamors around a parking garage attempting to stop cars driven by a murderer doesn’t make much sense. Why would a murderer stop to talk?
Though 88 Minutes isn’t Pacino’s finest hour (or hour and twenty eight minutes, to be precise), the film should leave most guessing who the murderer is throughout. That alone may make the film worth seeing for many—just don’t go in expecting anything more.
Tags: 88 Minutes, Films, Movies, Pacino