REVIEW: Real Time
Posted September 5, 2008 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Note: As many of the films screened at TIFF08 haven’t yet opened in theatres, only capsule reviews are permitted for most titles.
Small-time gambler Andy (Jay Baruchel) is given an hour to live by Reuban (Randy Quaid), the man employed by a local mob boss to kill him. What Andy chooses to do with that hour is completely up to him. As the title suggests, Randall Cole’s film unfolds in real time, and is a scant 78 minutes. But thanks to a plodding, at times cliched script, it feels much longer than that.
Most of the action involves Reuban and Andy driving around talking – Reuban clearly wants to make the young punk realize the error of his ways and impress upon him that he’s not nearly as unlucky in life as he thinks. But Andy’s a tough nut to crack – he whines and complains about how the fates have conspired against him.
Baruchel convincingly fills the role of weasel, Quaid’s performance is less steady (In the first five minutes his accent is all over the place – is he British, Australian, Bostonian?). Given the built-in tension inherent in the premise, Real Time feels weighed down. Maybe because you don’t particularly care what happens to either character.
Comments? Suggestions? Email tiff@citynews.ca
