http://www.submitstyle.info www.submitstyle.info Wed, 24 Aug 2011 14:28:05 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 http://www.submitstyle.info/clown/15-minutes/ http://www.submitstyle.info/clown/15-minutes/#comments Wed, 24 Aug 2011 14:28:05 +0000 admin http://www.submitstyle.info/?p=8 Cast:

Robert De Niro…	…Eddie Flemming
Edward Burns…	…Jordy Warsaw
Vera Farmiga…	…Daphne
Kelsey Grammer…	…Robert Hawkins
Melina Kanakaredes…	…Nicolette
Karel Roden…	…Emil
Oleg Taktarov…	…Oleg
Tygh Runyan…	…Stephen Geller

• Directed by: John Herzfeld
  Written by: John Herzfeld
  Rated R for strong violence, language and some sexuality
  
  

Time’s Up “15 Minutes” is a film with tons of potential. That’s the good news. The bad news is that the movie’s vast potential is drained via its awkward and undisciplined execution. Writer/director John Herzfeld certainly has something to say, but hasn’t given quite enough thought as to how to say it. The film plays like a rough first draft.A cynical satire of the American media’s obsession with violence, the movie opens with two foreign criminal thugs (Karel Roden and Oleg Taktarov) making their way into the United States. Their visit is for the purpose of obtaining money from a former accomplice. While slithering through the streets of New York, one of the men catches a glimpse of himself on television through a video camera in a display window. Captivated by the idea of being on tv, he subsequently lifts one of the cameras and soon the criminals are taping their crime spree. The plan is to videotape a murder by their own hands, then plead insanity and watch the cash flow pour in via book deals and tv movie rights. “I love America,” says one of the thugs. “No one is responsible for what they do.”Enter Detective Eddie Flemming (Robert De Niro), a “hero” policeman who carries on a surprisingly friendly rapport with the television news media, going so far as to allow the host of a “Hard Copy”-like show (Kelsey Grammer) to tag along during an arrest. He is called to the scene of the foreigners’ first hit, where the victims have been burned to a crisp. Hotshot arson investigator Jordy Warsaw (Edward Burns) also arrives. The two men reluctantly join forces, despite their differing views on the best way to approach the investigation.Director Herzfeld (“2 Days in the Valley”) has described the movie as “a social commentary told in the form of a thriller,” and while he certainly gets the look and feel of a satire right, he does make one fatal flaw in reverting back to standard thriller material at the most inopportune time … the final act. Up until that point, I was really on board with the idea and its bold, albeit a tad uneven execution.The story touches on many hot-button issues with a distinct satirical glee. I liked the criminals’ idea on how to make it big in the United States. I liked Oleg’s obsession with American movies, including his use of the name Frank Capra as an alias. Plus, I did like the quirks of Grammer’s Robert Hawkins, the sleazy tabloid tv journalist riding a wave of pompous arrogance. His juiciest moment comes upon the airing of the killers’ video, depicting his own friend as the victim. “I’d like to dedicate this video in loving memory to my friend…” says the despicable Hawkins, utilizing as much false sentiment as he can.Granted, some liberties may have been taken with regard to how certain developments might play out in real life, but this is a satire, and audacity must take precedence over naturalistic integrity.It’s too bad Herzfeld didn’t maintain his level of audacious filmmaking for the entire duration. For some reason, he feels the need to fall back on all-too-familiar thriller developments, leading to a final act that feels dreadfully anti-climactic. I wasn’t bothered by the fact that the story’s last development was contrived; just that it didn’t possess any narrative resonance. The film could have really packed a punch, giving audiences something to talk about for years after its release, a la Oliver Stone’s “Natural Born Killers.” Instead, it makes the inauspicious decision to wrap itself up neatly at the conclusion.As a result, the powerful culmination of the film’s decent individual moments never fully materializes. This includes some solid performances. De Niro does a nice job of playing against the grain, portraying a character who became media famous by apprehending a vicious murderer, and media savvy after watching the guilty party plead insanity and get his own movie deal. Edward Burns shows his star potential here, staying with De Niro step-for-step. He is able to combine a distinct charm with an unfathomable degree of fury when pushed to the limit. (“You want headlines, you wanna be a celebrity? SHOOT ME!”) In addition, I admired the high energy Karel Roden and Oleg Taktarov brought to the roles of the villains.It’s a tough call here. Maybe I’m being a tad unfair in drawing comparisons to a movie like “Natural Born Killers.” Yet I just can’t get past the notion of a filmmaker wanting to do a sharp satire on perhaps the most blistering of hot-button issues, and then not see it through to the end. The movie does take some risks. It just needed to follow through. Then it could have amounted to more than the debris of what might have been. ]]> http://www.submitstyle.info/clown/15-minutes/feed/ 0