Starring Al Pacino, Alicia Witt. Written by Gary Scott Thompson. Directed by Jon Avnet. (14A) 108 min. Opens April 18.
Released almost a year ago overseas and already available on DVD in many territories, 88 Minutes arrives on Canadian screens with little fanfare and is sure to disappear almost immediately. This disposable thriller just might be the worst film of Al Pacino’s career.
Pacino stars as Jack Gramm, a forensic psychiatrist and professor who receives a call from a mysterious voice telling him that he has 88 minutes to live. Normally this would cause someone to panic and try to prevent it from happening. Not Gramm — he simply goes about his day and somehow everyone he encounters becomes involved in the conspiracy. It’s not hard to predict who is responsible. Just take a look the ridiculously attractive students in Gramm’s class and ask yourself which recognizable actress has the least to do.
A titular premise like 88 Minutes suggests a fast-paced, real-time thriller with constantly escalating tension, but Fried Green Tomatoes director Jon Avnet is too inexperienced with the genre to pull it off. Instead, his characters perform actions that are impossible within the time constraints and the plot escalates in absurdity as the movie lumbers towards a convoluted conclusion. Pacino sleepwalks through a leading role that one can only hope was accepted for a big paycheque. The overqualified actor doesn’t rely on any of the wide-eyed screaming that’s defined his post-Scent of a Woman career; instead, he simply struggles to stay awake while mumbling his expository dialogue. Sparse audiences across North America will soon face the same drowsy dilemma. PHILIP BROWN