Jay Martin, storyboard artist for numerous blockbusters including Bulletproof Monk (Paul Hunter, 2003), I Am Legend (Francis Lawrence, 2007), The Hunger Games (Francis Lawrence, 2013) and The Amazing Spider-Man (Marc Webb, 2014) directs his first film, 7 Minutes (2014).
“Average police response time is 8 to 10 minutes […] We’re in and out in 7 minutes.” With 48 hours to pay a debt owed to a drug lord, high school friends, Sam, Mike and Owen plot a bank heist that will take exactly 7 minutes. TV actor, Luke Mitchell (Home and Away, H20: Just Add Water) plays the lead. Sam is soon to become a father with his high school sweetheart, Kate (Leven Rambin), but is struggling to make ends meet.
When he’s let go from his job at the factory, he turns to his drug dealer brother, Mike (Jason Ritter) for aid, but soon finds himself in debt to a drug lord following a comic scene where the ecstasy pills are misplaced.
The plot line is fairly standard – where a character’s predicament lies in repaying money owed to a gangster – the likes of which has been seen on screen innumerable times previously. Therefore the story lacks great interest, but so also do the characters. Sam is an underdog; desperate to get his hands on some money in order to provide a better life for his family.
Unfortunately that’s all the depth there is to his character. His brother, Mike, is labelled a drug-dealer and mutual friend, Owen is, until recently, an inmate for petty crime. Talent from well-known actors, Joel Murray (God Bless America (2011), The Artist (2011) and Monsters University (2013)) and Kris Kristofferson (Blade Trilogy (1998, 2002, 2004) and Watchmen (2009)) is gone to waste as they are cast in supporting roles, with seemingly more interesting characters.
All intrigue lies in exciting moments as the story is disjointed and non-linear, delivering information about the plot and characters gradually to its audience and the plan of being in an out in “7 minutes” quickly escalates.
Although the film falls short with its story, the cinematography by Noah Rosenthal is impressive and the film is edited well, portraying a disjointed, almost puzzle-like structure. The film’s editor, Kayla Emter has previously been involved in The Immigrant (2013), Gone (2012) and Something Borrowed (2011).
The film also sports a decent soundtrack with alternative tracks from Bill Patton, Ariana Delawari, The Von Bondies and Black Nite Crash.
Susanne Hodder, better known as Sue is a film reviewer from North Wales with an academic background and a first class honors degree in film studies. Also a keen filmmaker, Sue has helped produce a number of short films as part of a creative team. She also undertakes independent projects, shooting and editing her own wildlife documentary shorts and photographs.
