2:22   Starring: Val Kilmer and Gabriel Byrne Momentum Pictures RRP: £15.99 MP1054D Certificate: 18 Available 24 May 2010

For four career criminals the heist of some deposit boxes in the dead of winter should have been a breeze. The plan was good but as soon as they start the job things start to go wrong. Its aftermath would test their loyalty and their friendship...

2:22 (2008 - 1 hr, 44 min, 36 sec) is a crime thriller directed by Phillip Guzman who co-wrote the script with Mick Rossi, who also stars in the film. The movie won the ‘Best of Fest’ at the Malibu Film Festival.

Your like or dislike of the film will come down to some of the artistic choices the director has made. For a start the whole thing is shot with a heavy green tinge. This can look gritty and stylish, but personally I found the colour pallet kept making me think that there was something wrong with the television. There is also a heavy preponderance of unsteady cam, the sort of shaky camera work that is supposed to give a level of almost documentary realism; however its overuse here is more likely to induce motion sickness.

The film starts well as your average crime caper; Gulliver Mercer (Rossi) is the leader of his crew who is putting together what looks to be a routine job. I did like the character, Rossi plays him as a man with little malice in him, and this is just what he does for a job. This humanitarian side comes to the fore when he rescues a girl during the heist. Unbeknownst to the gang one of the guests, which they hold hostage, is himself a violent gang leader and this is where it all goes wrong for both Mercer and the film as the two parts - the heist and the revenge thriller - do not make comfortable bedfellows.

For a small budget film they have done well to get the services of Gabriel Byrne, though in truth he is hardly in the film, and Val Kilmer who plays a rather eccentric diamond fence. The rest of the cast are reasonable enough with May Mick Rossi, Robert Miano, Aaron Gallagher putting in good performances.

There is not much in the way of extras. You do get the original theatrical trailer (2 min, 16 sec) and the obligatory Making of... (32 min, 37 sec) which goes into some depth about the film - if nothing else everyone was very proud of the film and had a blast making it.

2:22 is not a bad film and the acting is pretty good. Personally I felt that the shaky cam was overused and the overall green tinge to the film a mistake, but then this may be your definition of cool. If so, then the film is most probably worth checking out. If nothing else it’s worth it just to see Val Kilmer explaining his character which is unintentionally funny.

6

Charles Packer