Carl is released from jail after serving a 5-year term and immediately sets about executing his next heist. The plan is relatively simple but time is of the essence. Unfortunately, he doesn't factor in bad luck or the incompetence of his accomplices.
Innovative yet simple film that is quite effective. Directed by Josh Becker, Running Time runs to real time - one minute of the viewer's time is one minute in the world of the movie. It is also shot in black & white, giving the film a raw, film noir atmosphere. Most tellingly, the camera work gives the feel of a single camera and one continuous shot, giving a very realistic feel.
The script, written by Becker and Peter Choi, is reasonably solid, though with one or two minor holes. Dialogue is snappy, and this helps the momentum of the movie. Here Becker is helped immensely by having Bruce Campbell (of The Evil Dead / Army of Darkness fame) in the lead role. He is perfect in the role and is easily a major factor in the effectiveness of the movie. Considering the low production values and how unknown the other actors are, I imagine his salary also made up a large part of the budget (total budget = $130,000, apparently): the idea would have been to keep everything else as cheap as possible and spend the bulk on the lead actor.
This said, the supporting cast are okay. Nobody is terrible and there's no hamminess (The Room this is not!). Dana Craig as the held-up office manager is probably the worst of the lot and his impact is kept to a minimum.
Some clumsiness in direction from Becker but this generally helps the realistic, candid feel of the movie. The real time aspect is not really used as effectively as it could have been: the importance of time is underplayed to an extent. Only during the robbery itself do we get the feeling that we are racing against the clock. What would have made it more enthralling and engaging would have been a count-down timer in the corner of the screen, showing how much time they have left to pull of the job. This may have detracted from the raw feel of the movie though.
Not brilliant, but quite innovative and a superb effort given the budgetary constraints.
Innovative yet simple film that is quite effective. Directed by Josh Becker, Running Time runs to real time - one minute of the viewer's time is one minute in the world of the movie. It is also shot in black & white, giving the film a raw, film noir atmosphere. Most tellingly, the camera work gives the feel of a single camera and one continuous shot, giving a very realistic feel.
The script, written by Becker and Peter Choi, is reasonably solid, though with one or two minor holes. Dialogue is snappy, and this helps the momentum of the movie. Here Becker is helped immensely by having Bruce Campbell (of The Evil Dead / Army of Darkness fame) in the lead role. He is perfect in the role and is easily a major factor in the effectiveness of the movie. Considering the low production values and how unknown the other actors are, I imagine his salary also made up a large part of the budget (total budget = $130,000, apparently): the idea would have been to keep everything else as cheap as possible and spend the bulk on the lead actor.
This said, the supporting cast are okay. Nobody is terrible and there's no hamminess (The Room this is not!). Dana Craig as the held-up office manager is probably the worst of the lot and his impact is kept to a minimum.
Some clumsiness in direction from Becker but this generally helps the realistic, candid feel of the movie. The real time aspect is not really used as effectively as it could have been: the importance of time is underplayed to an extent. Only during the robbery itself do we get the feeling that we are racing against the clock. What would have made it more enthralling and engaging would have been a count-down timer in the corner of the screen, showing how much time they have left to pull of the job. This may have detracted from the raw feel of the movie though.
Not brilliant, but quite innovative and a superb effort given the budgetary constraints.