Review of The Double Hour (2009) by V H — 05 Jun 2011

Guido and Sonia meet at a speed dating event in the Italian city of Turin. Guido is an ex-cop. Sonia is a Slovenian immigrant who works as a maid in a fancy hotel. They hit it off. They start dating. They drive to the country with the Cure blasting on the car stereo. They take a romantic walk in the woods. He's smiling, she's smiling. Next thing you know, no one is smiling. This is a crime thriller, not a romance.

The "double hour" in the title refers to those times during the day when the hour and minute are identical, such as 10:10, which presumably prompts some people to make a wish, like when you see a shooting star. Or a VW Beetle, but with a wish instead of a shoulder punch. It's a recurring theme throughout the film, though not a particularly meaningful one. "My god", Sonia seems to be thinking upon seeing that it's 11:11 or 12:12, "it's happening again!" Calm down, Sonia. It happens 24 times a day. Even more if you consider both twelve and twenty-four hour clocks.

Though I like going to movies alone, "The Double Hour" is one of those films that I really wish I saw with someone else so I could pepper them with questions afterwards. It's twisty, it's turny, and it's oh-so-confusing, in part because the director resorts to a very sneaky trick early in the film. After all was said and done, there were still things I had questions about, which isn't to say that all of the loose ends weren't necessarily wrapped up with tidy little bows, but that I'm really, really bad at following this sort of movie, in part because I suck at facial recognition. There weren't a whole lot of characters in this film, but even so, I was unsure about several of the men. I didn't even recognize Sonia when she put on a bathing cap but luckily the context helped. Or maybe someone called her "Sonia" when she got out of the pool. I forget.

There is really little I can say about this film without giving anything away, which is part of why I'm blathering on about tidy bows and face-blindness. Personally, I don't enjoy spending 105 minutes struggling to not be confused, and as I mentioned earlier, the director really pulls a fast one on us which really doesn't help matters. There's a difference between being clever and being tricky, and in my opinion, this plot falls squarely in the latter category.

Though I'm not a big fan of mysteries - or confusion in general - the film is well-acted and definitely held my oft-befuddled attention. And as a bonus, I learned that thing about every time I see a "double hour", I get to make a wish. Or punch someone in the shoulder. Dealer's choice, I suppose.