DOWNTIME
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Sound format: Dolby Digital
Set in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, but filmed in Liverpool after authorities in Newcastle objected to the script's exaggerated depiction of the city's poorest residents, Bharat Nalluri's DOWNTIME represents a curious combination of social drama and Hollywood-style sensationalism, like DIE HARD directed by Ken Loach! Paul McGann (TV's "The Monocled Mutineer") plays a former police psychologist who saves a young single mother (Susan Lynch) from suicide at the desolate apartment building where she lives with her only child. Whilst visiting her the following day, the two become trapped in an unstable elevator after it's sabotaged by a group of thugs who have been terrorizing the area for months. Forced to climb into the shaft and make their way to safety, they become aware of a fire at the top of the building which threatens to send the elevator crashing down on top of them...
Criticized in some quarters for its patronizing view of working class families (either foul-mouthed and stoic in adversity, or prone to criminal tendencies), this ultra-commercial entry was financed by FilmFour as part of a series of initiatives designed to challenge a widely-held view of the company as purveyors of 'Art-house' fare, though DOWNTIME's modest ambitions and lack of star power probably contributed to its poor showing at the UK box-office. Caspar Berry's fascinating script revolves around three major set-pieces: Lynch's suicide attempt on the upper floors of a high-rise building; the heart-stopping navigation of a crumbling elevator shaft by McGann, Lynch and her young son; and a climactic hospital siege in which Lynch is held at gunpoint by a neighbor (Tom Georgeson) who believes she's responsible for the death of his father (Birdy Sweeney) during the elevator incident. These scenes are genuinely thrilling - and probably accounted for Nalluri's subsequent transfer to Hollywood, where he helmed THE CROW: SALVATION (1999) and worked as 2nd unit director on AVP: ALIEN VS. PREDATOR (2004), amongst others - and casual viewers will enjoy the strong performances, tightly-wound plot line and extended scenes of peril. Some of the Tyneside accents are a little wayward, and McGann's romantic pursuit of an impossibly hard-bitten Lynch often borders on absurdity, but these are minor drawbacks in an otherwise fair production.
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Sound format: Dolby Digital
Set in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, but filmed in Liverpool after authorities in Newcastle objected to the script's exaggerated depiction of the city's poorest residents, Bharat Nalluri's DOWNTIME represents a curious combination of social drama and Hollywood-style sensationalism, like DIE HARD directed by Ken Loach! Paul McGann (TV's "The Monocled Mutineer") plays a former police psychologist who saves a young single mother (Susan Lynch) from suicide at the desolate apartment building where she lives with her only child. Whilst visiting her the following day, the two become trapped in an unstable elevator after it's sabotaged by a group of thugs who have been terrorizing the area for months. Forced to climb into the shaft and make their way to safety, they become aware of a fire at the top of the building which threatens to send the elevator crashing down on top of them...
Criticized in some quarters for its patronizing view of working class families (either foul-mouthed and stoic in adversity, or prone to criminal tendencies), this ultra-commercial entry was financed by FilmFour as part of a series of initiatives designed to challenge a widely-held view of the company as purveyors of 'Art-house' fare, though DOWNTIME's modest ambitions and lack of star power probably contributed to its poor showing at the UK box-office. Caspar Berry's fascinating script revolves around three major set-pieces: Lynch's suicide attempt on the upper floors of a high-rise building; the heart-stopping navigation of a crumbling elevator shaft by McGann, Lynch and her young son; and a climactic hospital siege in which Lynch is held at gunpoint by a neighbor (Tom Georgeson) who believes she's responsible for the death of his father (Birdy Sweeney) during the elevator incident. These scenes are genuinely thrilling - and probably accounted for Nalluri's subsequent transfer to Hollywood, where he helmed THE CROW: SALVATION (1999) and worked as 2nd unit director on AVP: ALIEN VS. PREDATOR (2004), amongst others - and casual viewers will enjoy the strong performances, tightly-wound plot line and extended scenes of peril. Some of the Tyneside accents are a little wayward, and McGann's romantic pursuit of an impossibly hard-bitten Lynch often borders on absurdity, but these are minor drawbacks in an otherwise fair production.