Movie

88 Minutes (2007)

Note: This review is based on the director’s cut version.

A mystery thriller based on the “real time” concept, with one minute of screen time per minute of actual in-universe time. Technically not true for the prologue (set many years earlier), but the rest of the film plays out in real time. This includes the titular 88 minutes the murderer gives the main character to live.

The hero is Jack Gramm (Al Pacino), a forensic psychologist and university lecturer. His testimony helped convict the serial killer Forster, who strung his female victims up by their ankles using cables and pulleys. He then cut their arteries and let them bleed to death. Now there’s a copycat with a vendetta against Gramm, who murders the women in his life to frame him.

It turns out the 88 minutes refers to a tragic event in Gramm’s past, where he left his young sister alone and she was murdered. An answerphone tape recording of the crime lasted the same length, and it appears Forster and his copycat accomplice are making things personal.

There are many suspects in the movie, primarily Gramm’s students and a mysterious guy in black leather. No prize for guessing he’s a red herring, and with everyone else eliminated come the climax, it’s easy to pick out the killer.

Villainess

Lauren Douglas / Lydia Doherty (Leelee Sobieski)

That murderess is one of Gramm’s students: the inquisitive Lauren, who tries to throw him (and viewers) off the scent by faking an attack on herself. Savvy watchers won’t be fooled since we never see the attack take place and Gramm finds no sign of the phantom suspect. To provide even more hints, a montage shows a murder victim where Gramm considers only female suspects. So even the hero has twigged that threatening callers who use voice disguisers are usually women.

Lauren dons biker gear and a dark-visored crash helmet to bump off the “leather guy” at Gramm’s apartment. The outfit is standard attire for someone who’ll later be revealed to be female. The villainess then goes after the women in his life: the helpful student, a colleague the good doctor slept with, and the university dean. With help from his trusted assistant, Gramm identifies Lauren as Lydia Doherty, an attorney working with Forster. She’s one of his psycho groupies who worship serial killers (a besotted female lawyer represented Forster in the prologue trial).

After the unsurprising reveal that Lauren/Lydia is indeed the killer, Gramm confronts her in a university office building. For literal leverage, the murderess has the dean suspended over the balcony edge by a rope/pulley setup and holds the cable. If Gramm shoots her, the hostage dies, and the killer also has the student hostage as backup. Lauren recounts her scheme with sparse black and white flashbacks that should have been longer or more detailed.

Lauren insists on giving Gramm the full 88 minutes she promised. This proves her undoing since the doctor tipped off his FBI agent friend, and he shows up to shoot the villainess in the back. With the threat taken out, Gramm grabs the cable and saves the dean, which sends the villainess plummeting to her death. Overall, it’s a decent confrontation capped off with an average demise.

Honourable Mention: Real Time

Nick of Time (1995) – Ms Jones (Roma Maffia)

Another real-time movie, this one stayed true to the concept from the opening titles to the end. Johnny Depp plays an average accountant, and Christopher Walken is a menacing villain known only as Mr Smith. He and his accomplice, credited as Ms Jones, kidnap the hero’s young daughter to coerce him into killing the Governor of California.

The plot plays out mostly as expected, with Depp’s character attempting to warn people of the intended assassination. His efforts are moot, and end with Mr Smith making timely threats or the person involved in the conspiracy. Eventually, the hero enlists the help of a Vietnam veteran to thwart Smith’s plan and rescue his daughter.

Ms Jones is always secondary to the charismatic Walken, but has a few worthy scenes. In her most memorable scene, she threatens the daughter with a gun hidden behind a seat cushion. The villainess outlines the various firearms she could be packing and the nasty effects. There’s a good scrap between Ms Jones and the Vietnam vet, which culminates in him knocking her out with a detached false leg.