88 minutes

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Movie
German title 88 minutes
Original title 88 minutes
Country of production United States , Germany , Canada
original language English
Publishing year 2007
length approx. 106 minutes
Age rating FSK 16
Rod
Director Jon Avnet
script Gary Scott Thompson
production Jon Avnet,
Randall Emmett ,
Gary Scott Thompson
music Ed Shearmur
camera Denis Lenoir
cut Peter E. Berger
occupation

88 minutes (Original title: 88 Minutes ) is a thriller from director Jon Avnet from 2007 with Al Pacino in the leading role.

action

A serial killer is up to mischief in Seattle . The way in which he kills his female victims is always the same down to the last detail: the murderer uses pulley blocks and winches to hang his victim from the ceiling with a rope by one leg. The victims are then tortured with knives until their throats are cut in the end. The victims are always anesthetized with the same means. The film begins with young sisters of Asian descent being visited by that serial killer. He tortures and rapes both women, and one of the twin sisters is even murdered. Since the perpetrator is disturbed, he has to let go of his second victim so that she survives. On the basis of the testimony of that woman, on the basis of further circumstantial evidence and above all on the basis of a psychiatric report by forensic psychiatrist Dr. Jack Gramm, a man named Jon Forster is found guilty of the murder of one twin sister and sentenced to death. The serial killer’s other murders are ignored in the process.

Nine years later, Gramm, the then court appraiser, was working as a college professor in Seattle. He is also an advisor to the FBI and continues to be an appraiser. Shortly before Forster's execution, more murders followed the same pattern. One of these murders occurs on a Gramms student on the day Forster was scheduled to be executed. Seemingly independent, Gramm received a phone call on the morning of the same day telling him he would die in 88 minutes. This period corresponds to the length of time Gramm's sister suffered in her childhood when she was the victim of a violent crime in the course of which she died. Forster, who has built up some popularity in prison, calls for the verdict to be revised over the new murders and attacks Gramm in a television interview broadcast from the prison.

Due to the new murders, for which Forster, as a prison inmate, always has an alibi , the reputation of Gramms with the FBI is shaken. Several indications suggest that his opinion was not written objectively. Some Gramms students also ask awkward questions. Gramm therefore feels threatened both physically and in his reputation as a forensic psychiatrist. He is looking for the person threatening him, who continues to call him at irregular intervals to tell him in the form of a countdown how many minutes he still has to live. These calls continue even after Gramm accidentally destroys his own cell phone and has to borrow someone else's cell phone. Another young woman, with whom the womanizer Gramm had sexual intercourse, is murdered in the same cruel way. Increasing evidence suggests that there is a direct link between the current murders and the threat to Gramms. Gramm suspects some students, his assistant Kim and her ex-boyfriend.

Ultimately, it turns out that a Gramms student, Lauren Douglas - who by a different name is Forster's lawyer and lover - committed the murders on whose behalf In order to get Forster released and to extort an admission from Gramm that his report in the Forster case was falsified . Douglas lures Gramm into the main building of the college, where she holds his assistant Kim and the university principal Carol hostage. The building had previously been vacated due to a bomb threat. When Gramm enters the building, Carol is hanging upside down by one leg on a pulley system in the typical serial killer manner. She already shows clear cuts. Douglas threatens to kill Carol if Gramm doesn't make the confession she demands. Gramm responds to this and confesses to having put Forster behind bars with a false report. However, the viewer does not find out to what extent this corresponds to reality. Douglas is then shot dead by an FBI agent who Gramm had ordered to the university building. Gramm rescues Carol and Kim and disappears the tape recorder that recorded his confession. In a telephone conversation with Forster, he tells him that Douglas is dead and that Forster's execution will be carried out. The case is now solved and Gramm's reputation is restored.

criticism

David Nusair wrote on Reel Film Reviews that the film was "shockingly inept" from start to finish. It was a low point in the career of Al Pacino, who played "surprisingly unfocused". The biggest problem is the "remarkably incompetent" written script.

James Berardinelli described the film as "one of the stupidest thrillers that have long been seen in the cinema".

The film service ruled: “A thriller developed in supposed real time, the story of which is predictable and stereotypical. What is remarkable is the top-class cast of the film, which is the first " direct-to-DVD " production with Al Pacino. "

background

The film was shot in Vancouver and on the campus of the University of British Columbia . Its production cost was estimated to be $ 30 million. The film was released in some countries like Brazil , Israel and France in the first half of 2007, while the US didn't release until April 18, 2008.

It is depicted as if the film plot - apart from the introductory sequence - largely took place in real time , which seems questionable due to the diverse actions that the protagonists perform and the immense distances they cover.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Release certificate for 88 minutes . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , June 2007 (PDF; test number: 110 366 V / DVD / UMD).
  2. ^ Film review by David Nusair, accessed December 4, 2007
  3. ^ Reelviews Movie Review: 88 Minutes , accessed April 16, 2008
  4. ^ Film review on Filmdienst, accessed on April 16, 2008
  5. ↑ Filming locations for 88 Minutes, accessed June 23, 2007
  6. ↑ Box office / business for 88 minutes, accessed June 23, 2007
  7. ^ Opening dates for 88 Minutes, accessed June 23, 2007

Web links