There are many things about independent films that separates them form the mainstream Hollywood movies. They are naturally enough smaller in scope although they often exceed the studios in quality and commitment in the cast and crew. Of all the aspects of the Indy movie that makes them different from the big blockbusters is their willingness to be more imaginative. They are capable of going in directions that the studios would never tread mostly because there may not be enough financial return to warrant the production. This sense of experimentation is one of the most exciting elements in an independent film and even when it doesn’t completely work out the results push the limits of the art of cinema and are different from what you are used to watching. Of course, this requires that the audience be open minded and willing to take a chance on a different method of story telling but often the risk is well worth it. In the movie ‘Real Time’ the film maker, Randall Cole, turns his back of such common place techniques as fast cuts, time dilation and other tricks of the editing bay and presents his story in, as the title refers, real time. Ten minutes in the film equates to ten minutes of real time so the movie unfolds in the time to takes to display it. This is not a new technique at all. In 1952 the western ‘High Noon’ the critical period of the film where the marshal is waiting for the bad guy to arrive is in real time. Other Indy films like ‘Timecode’ gave the actors digital cameras and showed the story in real time from four different perspectives. While this film is not as extreme as ‘Timecode’ it uses the temporal element to great advantage. Without this device this would be a fairly run of the mill story that combines some overly familiar themes and situations. By moving the film along in real time the director heightens the voyeuristic feel of the movie. Film buffs all over are thankful that we live in the age of home theater systems. There was a time that the only way you could catch a movie like this was to find a local art house or travel to where an independent film festival might showcase the film. Now there are DVDs and distributors that are willing to give a movie like this a shot at a broader distribution. One such distributor is Image Entertainment. They have one of the most diverse catalogs around and most movie collector are certain to find many titles to add to their shelves. This is a film that has just enough of a twist in the way it is shown to make it interesting.

Randall Cole appears to be fascinated with how movies display time periods. This is the second film that he wrote and directed where time is a crucial element in how the story is related to the audience. In his first opus ’19 Months’ he looked at a young couple who believes that a romantic relationship has an expiration date and want to make the most of the time they have before the inevitable end of there romance. Here Cole has shortened the time span enabling it to fit nicely in a movie’s duration. The story revolves around a dead beat gambler, Andy Hayes (Jay Baruchel) who has a hit put out on him. Out to fulfill the contract is a professional killer, Reuben (Randy Quaid). Basically Reuben grants an unusual boon to the condemned man, one last hour of life. This is a simplistic plot although it lends itself to some interesting elements to keep the story different from the variations that we have all seen. The tone of the story is a dramatic comedy. It is a different way to go since many might have been prone to head off in a dark comedy direction. In a strange and twisted way this is part buddy movie with elements of a road trip flick. Okay, usually in a buddy film you don’t look forward to one guy killing the other but you get the idea. Another popular thing here is the tried and true plot device of the terminally ill patient. Many films have looked at what a person would do if their doctor has given them a brief time to live. In this story there are two important caveats to the story. First the person giving the news will make sure it happens at the appointed time. Second the time period is incredibly brief and set. A few months to live is somewhat ambiguous but ‘I’ll kill you in one hour’ allows for the audience’s need to follow the ticking clock.

In his role as the director of this movie Cole does extremely well in maintaining the time sense inherent in the format and the story line. Considering the fundamental plot it was better that he chose a dramatic comedy instead of a dark comedy. The situation is prone to some very funny bits interwoven with the overall serious nature of the story. Andy has just one hour to live and the man that will take his life is along for that time. Andy has nothing really to lose and instead of trying to make the most of the time in a rational way, as if the situation has anything rational to it, he typically falls back on the same old habits that got him to this place. There is an intimacy provided by the setting. Much of the story unfolds in Reuben’s car. This gives the feel of some of those experimental plays my wife and used to catch down in Greenwich Village back in the seventies. With such a minimalist cast all the heavy lifting in squarely on the shoulders of the leads. Fortunately both actors are well up to the challenge. When it is time to consider the cast for a little experimental flick you most likely don’t immediately think of Randy Quaid. He has built a successful career in mainstream movies usually in quirky roles used for comic relief such as his part in ‘Independence Day’. Here Quaid is able to balance on a fine line between a cold blooded killer and a man with a soft spot for his next victim. He feels sorry for Andy but a job is a job and a hit man has to do what is demanded. In order for this to work out you need an actor that is unsavory enough to deserve his fate but likeable enough for the audience to have a modicum of sympathy for this likeable looser. We know that Andy has few if any redeeming qualities but still he is a human being and is about to be murdered. What is most amazing in the performances here is the way both actors are able to pull back their character portrayals. It would have been very easy for them to go over the top turning the film into a farce but Quaid and Baruchet demonstrate restraint allowing the audience to see their characters are realistic people.

This is an odd film but that is a compliment. I enjoy odd and this film has a fast pace quirkiness that carries it. I look forward to the next film from Mr. Cole. It took a real love of the art for him to take on something with this format. He had to edit the film in such a way as to met the critical time line and that has to be quite a chore. After so many new directors going down the easy path of bad horror flick it reaffirms my faith in Indy flicks to see a film maker who cares enough to try for something different.