SHORT ON TIME
Suspense Thriller
Cast: Johnny Depp, Melissa George, Barry Pepper, Kyle Chandler, Kathryn Morris, Emily Deschanel, Idris Elba, Joe Anderson, Jessica Chastain
Director: John Dahl
Plot:
Rick Drayton (Johnny Depp) is an accountant and notary public in his hometown of Biloxi, Mississippi. He decides to take a one-week vacation in New Orleans, but this does not sit well with Stella (Melissa George), his secretary and girlfriend, since he is not taking her along.
On the first night, Drayton accompanies a group from a sales convention for a night on the town. He ends up at a jazz club where, unbeknownst to him, a stranger swaps his drink for another. The next morning, Drayton feels ill. He visits a doctor, where tests reveal he has swallowed a toxin for which there is no antidote and that he has mere days to live. A second opinion confirms the grim diagnosis and suggests that he was most likely deliberately poisoned.
With just a few days to live, Drayton sets out to uncover the events behind his impending death, interrupted occasionally by phone calls from Stella. She provides him with the first clue: a man named Frank Gilmore had tried to contact him, but died the previous day. Drayton travels to Gilmore's import-export company in Houston, first meeting Missy Collins (Emily Deschanel), the secretary, then Roy Chess (Barry Pepper), the vice-president, who informs him that Frank committed suicide. From there the trail leads to Frank’s widow, Elaine Gilmore (Kathryn Morris) and Frank's brother John (Kyle Chandler).
The key to the mystery is a bill of sale for what turns out to be stolen rhodium, which Stella provides him. Drayton had notarized the document for Frank Gilmore six months earlier. He connects Frank's mistress Maria Sizemore (Jessica Chastain) to gangsters led by Roland (Idris Elba) after following her from the funeral. Roland’s men capture Drayton and since he has learned too much about the theft, Roland orders his psychotic henchman Lyle (Joe Anderson) to kill him. However, Drayton manages to overpower Lyle and escape.
Drayton thinks John and Missy Collins are his killers but when he confronts them, he finds that John has also been poisoned. However in John's case, immediate treatment can still save his life. Drayton then realizes that Chess engineered the theft and had also been carrying on an affair with Elaine Gilmore. When Frank found out, he struggled with Chess and was pushed over a balcony to his death. Chess poisoned Drayton to tie up the loose ends. Drayton tracks Chess down and shoots him to death in an exchange of gunfire. Drayton then finally succumbs to the poison and dies.
THE END
Stark’s Comment:
"As you all know, thrillers always have a hard time in CMP. Let’s see if the presence of Johnny Depp can save this one…"
Box Office: 36 mill.
Net Gains: 0.9 mill.
Stark’s Reaction:"Saved from the flop by only a few thousand dollars… Again, for some unknown reason, it is very difficult to make thrillers work in CMP’s world."
