Review of 15 Minutes (2001) by Lele I — 05 Jul 2006

Best in Show: Robert De Niro.

One for the future: Ed Burns.

Stand-out scene: Trapped in bathroom.

Brainer or no-brainer: No brainer.

Stands up to one viewing or repeated?: One.

DVD commentary any good?: n/a.

TV.

A strange fish, this one and kudos to the writer-director John Herzfeld for making a thriller that has something to say about the symbiotic relationship between the newsmakers and the news reporters in this voyeuristic age. Frequent and graphic violence made this an 18-rated movie in the UK and a lot of the blood and gore will make you squirm, the two Eastern European criminals at the core of the action the least sympathetic characters you can imagine. What makes this movie, however is powerhouse performances from both Robert De Niro and Ed Burns (who bulked up muscle-wise to convince as an arson investigator who spent years in the fire service). The Russian (Oleg) and the Czech (Emil) enter the US with a view to getting their share of a heist over which they have served time. Upon finding that the money has been spent they murder their cohort and his wife, inadvertently leaving the wife's sister as an eyewitness. Burning down the apartment to cover their tracks, Detective Eddie Flemming (De Niro) and Jordy Warsaw (Burns) join forces to solve the murder, once Warsaw has established that foul play is at work. Emil has ambitions to direct movies and after stealing a video camera, he records all of the duo's misdeeds. Oleg later hits upon this as a means of allowing the duo to escape prison on the grounds of insanity; no-one of sound mind would be stupid enough to record proof of their misdeeds on tape. Flemming makes frequent TV appearances with slimy factual news reporter Robert Hawkins (Kelsey Grammar) to whom the story is everything and Oleg and Emil realise that the material they have is worth millions to an unscrupulous broadcaster. Charlize Theron, whose breakthrough role came in Herzfeld's earlier offering 2 Days in the Valley makes a cameo appearance for which she took no fee but it's fine work from De Niro and Burns that makes this movie worth your time.