REVIEW: Nick of Time
NICK OF TIME
(1995)
A film review by Pia Chew
Directed by: John Badham
Produced by: John Badham and D. J. Caruso
Cast: Johnny Depp (Gene Watson), Christopher Walken (Mr Smith), Charles Dutton
(Huey), Roma Maffia (Mrs Jones), Marsha Mason (Eleanor Grant).
Run Time: 90 minutes
Rating: *1/2 out of *****
Before the cult of Keanu, before the great
debate about leading-man looks versus shallow, consistent performances,
there was Johnny Depp, the original teenage heartthrob, Mr All-American
Blandness himself, who first appeared in the American TV series "21 Jump
Street" (a cross between "D.A.Y.S" and "Triple Nine") for four years,
before breaking into the big screen in PLATOON (Oliver Stone, 1986).
"21 Jump Street" was no "NYPD Blue" or "Homicide" (and for that
matter, no "Triple Nine" or "Tropical Heat"). It was an average,
conventional TV series, predictable but earnest in its message about
teenage crime, but it did successfully launch the image of Depp as the
new-age hunk. This ignominous honour sits rather uneasily on the
reluctant star himself, who has subsequently tried his darnedest to
challenge and escape from the pretty-boy persona, often with the result
of creating a non-persona, or an on-screen invisibility, that translates
into an unappealing blandness.
For this reason, NICK OF TIME is marred by a characteristically limited
performance from Depp, and the film's lack of pace. Even with a running
time of 90 minutes, the movie seemed overly long and repetitious, as it
relied completely on the gimmick of "real time," focusing on a tense,
drama-filled 90 minutes of Watson's (Depp) life from the moment he is
first introduced to the audience as a single, protective father of a
precocious daughter, to his subsequent efforts to extricate himself from
a covert plot to kill a senator played by veteran actress Marsha Mason.
The plot reads
like a typical "X-Files" episode; driven by paranoia and obsessed with
brutal "government" plots motivated by capitalist greed and power;
ruthless in its victimization and manipulation of the average Joe who is
inadvertantly sucked into a vicious and ingenious murder scheme. All
these themes are perfectly encapsulated in the first half hour of the
film, where most of the heart-racing action takes place. Gene is
randomly selected from a crowd of train passengers based on his
emotional attach ment to his daughter. The movie's resident villain
Christopher Walken -- he of the unflinching, cold stare -- hijacks Gene
and his five-year-old daughter. He tells Gene to assassinate the governor of
California by 1.30 pm or his daughter will be killed by his accomplice, Mrs Jones.
That's the good part of the film. Its premise is unusual enough to sustain a
mild interest, the villains are convincingly portrayed by Walken and Maffia,
and the action of the first half hour pulsates with energy and suspense as we begin to
experience Watson's sense of fear and uncertainty, not to mention the years of guilt
if he does pull the trigger on an unknowing female governor.
Now the bad: Depp just does *not* cut it as an accountant/single father.
He simply does not have the acting range to pull it off. Firstly, he
looks much too young to be a father, and although he handles the action
scenes competently, his facial expressi ons are painfully limited to Wide-eyed Look of Wonder, that is,
Desperation, and Wide-eyed Look of Wonder, that is, Fear. Not much of a
range for an actor, even for action/thriller standards.
Meanwhile, Keanu Reeves is currently, as I
write , being panned by critics for his superficial performances and
insufficient acting range, and his embarassing forays into Shakespeare
and other literary adaptations of novels such "Dracula." Actors like
Depp seem to get away with much less criticism despite similar
blandness. Perhaps the difference lies in Depp's complete immersion in
the role he plays. This erases whatever "quality" Depp possesses, and
the result is a realistic but unappealing, nondescript character.
Reeves never strays from his California-accented English; his earnest
delivery of his lines with the distinct habit of stressing the second
syllable prevents him from ever being convincing. From the critics'
point of view, that has not got Reeves very far as a "serious" character
actor. In the mean time, we will have to be content with low-key
performances from Depp.
REVIEW's rating system:
* Wait for the video.
** A little creaky, but still better than staying at home with Gurmit's World.
*** Pretty good, bring a friend.
**** Amazing, potent stuff.
***** Perfection. See it twice.
Pia Chew is card-carrying worshiper
of Keanu Reeves (bet you couldn't tell), and a currently unemployed, literature student.