88 MINUTES: A MOVIE REVIEW
88 MINUTES (2008)
This is conclusive proof that Al Pacino will never escape his Hollywood niche which is a triangle whose sides are: cops, criminals, perverted sex. I was disappointed with Pacino once again playing a character caught in a milieu of perverted doings, which seem ALWAYS to be exploited in his films. Now, some will defend him, based on his Godfather movies. Yet, even in these films he is operating in an aberrant world, where murder serves the same function as a lawsuit in the normal world.
The very first film in which I encountered Al Pacino, he played an undercover vice officer in NYC, working the homosexual scene. The film was entitled, Cruising. In that film several little known homosexual “pleasures” are partially depicted and/or alluded to. To that extent it served as an educational film for that part of the general public that witnessed it. The impression was not a good one. This film set the tone for Pacino’s career. Has any actor on the “big screen” had as many roles as either a cop or a criminal? Clint Eastwood may be competitive, but no one ever combined these twin careers so frequently with obsessive exploitation of sex to hype a movie, as Al Pacino has.
Almost predictably for an Al Pacino flick, his character, Dr. Jack Gramm, is a Forensic Psychiatrist who works closely enough with the FBI to have an FBI ID, with which he can threaten and intimidate citizens, as he searches for “bitten hand” marks, or other pretext. [Admittedly, this may have some utility as commentary on modern police procedure in the era of Homeland Security.] Also, almost a predictable certainty, he specializes in serial murderers. He gets into their “heads,” doncha know? Guess what? Seattle has one in this film. How handy! Dr. Jack Gramm is teaching a class in his specialty at Northwest Washington University. This is also handy, as many moviegoers will immediately assume that such students are NOT QUITE RIGHT in the head. Therefore, they provides a snakes’ nest of misdirection and false trails to keep viewers guessing. Further, it is hardly surprising that Dr. Jack Gramm’s “girl Friday” at his office is “gay.” In an Al Pacino film, the viewer would sort of expect that. Finally, I’ll mention, although certainly it isn’t the last item one could list, Dr. Jack Gramm had a baby sister, maybe 9 years old, who was left alone many years ago by Jack when he pursued his special interest, when he lived in NYC, and she was torture-murdered over an 88 minute period, all of which was taped by the murderer.
Wholesome ingredients for a sensational movie? You be the judge.
Al Pacino is really a man with acting skills (overacting skills as well), so that his movies are bolstered somewhat by his ability to achieve credibility for his characters on screen. He has a degree of film charisma, as well. The moviegoer witnessed that when he starred with Johnny Depp in Donnie Brasco, and Pacino became the focus of every scene they were in together (quite a few). Al Pacino has made many movies. Too bad his film ouevre will be so thematically limited and questionable. [His is not the same sort of case as that of the greatly talented Annette Benning, whose abuse was at the hands of obtuse Hollywood producers, and, accordingly her film oeuvre is slight.] Al Pacino willingly participated in the abuse of his talent.
This film is set in Seattle. Not surprisingly, it was often raining or overcast. To counter the gloom, Seattlans have at least shown an architectural flair, which tends to defuse the effects of relentless gray skies.
The film’s preamble is set in 1997.
The film opens with the cute Cates girls in their pad. They are twins. One retires quickly to her bed, while the other muses over the fate of Princess Di. Her sister, Joanie (Vicky Huang), from her bed, calls for “Janie” (Tammy Hui) to “turn down the music” and feed the cat. [It recalled to my mind the old song: "Put out the dog, and bring in the cat."]
Parenthetically, as twins are alleged to have an extremely high correlation of likes and dislikes (genetic programming), one would expect that the twin, Joanie, would find the music as enjoyable, as her twin, Janie, did. But let’s proceed with this opening, as it is alluded to visually and verbally often in the film, besides being the very heart of the issue which brings Dr. Gramm into adversarial relationship with Jon Forster (Neal McDonough), the convicted slayer of Janie Cates. [It is also Exhibit A. in the case that this is a seedy, sexploitation flick.]
The viewer sees the skimpily-dressed Janie [her sister wears a sleeping gown] strolling about the apartment, calling: “Here, kitty, kitty!” This goes on a bit. At some point the viewer becomes aware that Janie isn’t alone. There is a male figure in the dimly lit room into which Janie has entered in search of the hungry cat. She is overcome. The intruder uses “halodane,” which is a liquid that vaporizes easily, after the fashion of ether, and functions for the same purpose. It is used especially in veternarian facilities to induce a tranquility unto sleep for pets. With a doused rag the villain compels unconsciousness on Janie. He then attaches a grappling line with rachets after the fashion of mountain climbers to one of Janie’s legs and hoists her up by that leg. Then, he produces instruments of potential torture, including a surgeon’s scalpel, with which he cuts her leg. As she comes into consciousness and begins to scream, he reapplies halodane. He rapes and murders Janie. Hearing her sister, Joanie gets out of bed and makes her way to the room where Janie hangs upside down, bleeding, and where the darkly clothed and partially masked villain, lurks at her side. There, Joanie screams, and things happen so fast. It was so dim. It was so quick. It was so horrible.
This is the main preamble to be described. Did she–was it even possible–see the assailant well enough to say, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Jon Forster was the man in the room lurking at her sister’s side that fateful night. Urged on by Dr. Gramm, she fingered Forster.
[The judge was clearly sympathetic to the prosecution, cutting off a reasonable attempt by Forster's attorneys to defend their client on a "capital one" charge by challenging the credibility of the only link between Forster and the deceased Cates twin: Jack Gramm's professional hypothesis and judgment, utterly bereft of tangible evidence. Even so, the jury brought in a guilty verdict. As this verdict is bizarre on the basis of "beyond reasonable doubt" (Forster adamently denied guilt), one may view this as a liminal attack on the jury system.]
Story Summary: A famous, wealthy Forensic Psychiatrist, haunted by memories of his baby sister, murdered by a serial murderer many years ago, when he left her alone, has linked his career with the FBI to do all that it is possible to do to bring such “sickos” to justice. Now, as he teaches college students the art of forensic shrinkism in the area of serial murderers, an old case keeps dogging him. Jon Forster is in prison, facing the death sentence soon, and loudly protesting his innocence and victimhood at the hands of a vindictive “shaman (Gramm).” Dr. Gramm doesn’t buy it. However, on or about the day after the night he drank too much (apparently a frequent occurence) and spent the night with Sara Pollard (Leah Cairns), later to be described as an “escort,” Jack Gramm began to receive strange, threatening messages, such as “you have 88 minutes to live. Ticktock, ticktock.” Now, as the day progresses, Jack gets more messages, each noting that the time for him to live is dwindling. Psychological warfare? That could easily be the title of this movie. Under this pressure, as well as the irksome public show of support for Jon Forster to be granted a ”stay of execution” (such support is a denial of Jack Gramm’s authoritarian pronouncements on abnormal psyches in action), Jack Gramm falls under the shadow of suspiciousness. He suspects nearly everyone of somehow being in cohoots with Jon Forster. Even FBI bro, Special Agent Frank Parks (William Forsythe) says to Jack: “I don’t know who you are anymore.” Well, hellsbells! Who can you trust? Even his lesbian office “right arm” gets into a hot lesbo scene which unwittingly opens his secured files to “nosey assaying.” Even his hot, pretty class assistant, Kim Cummings (Alicia Witt), has a shady connection that has surfaced. He is ex-con, Guy LaForge (Steven Moyer). Did he meet Forster in prison? He wears leather clothing, rides a chopper, and glares at Jack. Mucho suspicione! Everywhere Jack glances, there are suspicious people. And now people are questioning his authoritative views, as if he were maybe–well, hmmm–maybe crazy. Someone blows up his car. His bedmate, Sara Pollard, is found dead–with Jack’s semen present and still other evidences right there. And she was killed in the same gruesome method as Janie Cates! Gimmeabreak! Then there is a second copycat murder in which evidence of Jack Gramm’s presence abounds, including semen. Forgettaboutit! Dr. Gramm KNOWS that Jon Forster has an outside accomplish. Who? Meanwhile, he’s getting all those repetitious, annoying messages: “You have…minutes to live. Ticktock, ticktock.” Folks, trust me; this flick does come to a welcomed end. In the last terrible events the viewer finds three women and Dr. Gramm, who has narrowly talked Agent Parks into ten minutes at a particular building, after which ten minutes, the FBI agent would take him into custody. Therefore, the moviegoer is set up for a “nick-of-time” resolution. First the tease; then the squeeze. Oh, yes! There will be blood! After a final colloquy between Jon Forster and Dr. Gramm, the devious villain learns the grim truth: Al Pacino is the star of this movie and don’t lose, see!
From the outset of this film I placed my bets on Jack Gramm. During the brief meeting at the trial after verdict was rendered, Jon Forster upbraids Dr. Gramm, using the expression: “Ticktock, ticktock.” How many adult men do you hear going about saying that? Therefore, when the phrase was included in the messages, there could be only high probability that Jon Forster was absolutely guilty and the mind behind the threatening messages, psychological warfare, and the planned assassination.
I firmly believe that I have made this movie sound more interesting than it is. I found it tedious and covering the gorey sexploitation trail that any number of recent films have covered. Been there, done that–more than a critic should have to bear. I proclaim that this is absolutely the last “new release” Al Pacino movie I’ll go to see.
All rights reserved. Gobigfoot, 2008.
