15 Minutes (2001)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

John Herzfeld

Writer (WGA):

John Herzfeld (written by)

Release Date:

9 March 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

America likes to watch

Plot:

A homicide detective and a fire marshall must stop a pair of murderers who commit videotaped crimes to become media darlings.

Plot Keywords:

Media | Detective | Fire Marshal | Video Camera | Murder

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Robert De Niro	...	Detective Eddie Flemming
Edward Burns	...	Fire Marshal Jordy Warsaw
Kelsey Grammer	...	Robert Hawkins
Avery Brooks	...	Detective Leon Jackson
Melina Kanakaredes	...	Nicolette Karas
Karel Roden	...	Emil Slovak
Oleg Taktarov	...	Oleg Razgul
Vera Farmiga	...	Daphne Handlova
John DiResta	...	Bobby Korfin
James Handy	...	Deputy Chief Fire Marshal Declan Duffy
Darius McCrary	...	Detective Tommy Cullen
Bruce Cutler	...	Himself
Charlize Theron	...	Rose Hearn
Kim Cattrall	...	Cassandra
David Alan Grier	...	Mugger in Central Park

Also Known As:

15 Minuten Ruhm (Germany)
Fifteen Minutes (USA) (alternative spelling)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence, language and some sexuality.

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English | Czech | Russian | Greek | Afrikaans

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #36845) | Malaysia:18SG (uncut version) | Malaysia:U (cut version) | Singapore:R(A) | Brazil:16 | Singapore:M18 | Philippines:R-18 | South Korea:15 (cable rating) | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Chile:18 | Finland:K-18 | France:-16 | Germany:18 | Hong Kong:IIB | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R18 | Norway:18 | Peru:18 | Singapore:PG (censored version) | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:18 | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

New Line Cinema

Trivia:

The title comes from the famous quote by artist Andy Warhol who said in the future everyone will be famous for "15 minutes".

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: Emil says that he will fake insanity and have himself declared unfit for trial. This, he says, will result in his being committed to a psychiatric institution where he will miraculously recover and be protected from further trial by the "double jeopardy" laws. While his being "unfit for trial" would, indeed, prevent him from being tried, meaning that "double jeopardy" wouldn't apply, we can, perhaps, excuse his incomplete grasp of the subtleties of foreign law and language, and accept that his plan would work if he stood trial and was declared "not guilty by reason of insanity".

Quotes:

Emil Slovak: I love America. No one is responsible for what they do.

Movie Connections:

References The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Soundtrack:

Fundal

Makes you think

This movie took a severe beating in the press and most reviews, so I wasn't expecting much when I went to see it. However, I was pleasantly surprised, and reassured that my distrust of what the newspaper reviewers think is not misplaced.

This movie has a cast that includes the supremely talented Robert de Niro, Kelsey Grammar, and Edward Burns. It has some excellent writing and some top-notch acting performances. But its real accomplishment is how it makes you think.

The increasing relationship between crime and the media is not linear, and the movie does tend to oversimplify at times. In many respects, it suffers horribly from being predictable, although there were instances where it strayed sharply from the "rules" of formulaic movies. (Saying any more on that score would give away important aspects of the plot, so I'll refrain from elaborating.) Furthermore, in true Hollywood tradition, the main villains are dumb, completely amoral, and oh, did I mention foreign? The idea might have been to give an outsider perspective on the abuse of American culture, but that angle ultimately just plays into outdated audience prejudices against people who speak with an Eastern European accent.

Too, the movie has very graphic violence - but not as bad as I'd expected, and not as bad as what is shown in many other movies. Through creative camera angles, many of the bloodiest scenes are only obscurely hinted at, leaving the audience to fill in the pieces.

Not surprisingly, many entertainment reviewers disliked the movie, because it has the effect of exposing some of the more negative effects of the media. "15 Minutes" does not claim that the media causes violence; rather, it explains that the interplay between the two is ingrained in American culture. This movie may not be saying anything original, but it is sufficiently entertaining and thought-provoking to make it worth seeing.