Nick of Time (1995)

An unimpressive, every-day man is forced into a situation where he is told to kill a politician to save his kidnapped daughter.

Director:

John Badham

Writer:

Patrick Sheane Duncan

Stars:

Johnny Depp, Courtney Chase, Charles S. Dutton

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Johnny Depp	...	Gene Watson
Courtney Chase	...	Lynn Watson
Charles S. Dutton	...	Huey
Christopher Walken	...	Mr. Smith
Roma Maffia	...	Ms. Jones
Marsha Mason	...	Gov. Eleanor Grant
Peter Strauss	...	Brendan Grant
Gloria Reuben	...	Krista Brooks
Bill Smitrovich	...	Officer Trust
G.D. Spradlin	...	Mystery Man
Yul Vazquez	...	Gustino (Guest Services)
Edith Diaz	...	Irene (Domestic Maintenance)
Armando Ortega	...	Hector (Guest Services)
C.J. Bau	...	Mixologist
Cynthena Sanders	...	Beverage Server

Storyline

Gene Watson is a public accountant who arrives on a train at Union Station in Los Angeles, accompanied by his 6-year-old daughter Lynn. Because of his ordinary looks, he is approached by a pair of sinister people named Smith and Jones. Pretending to be cops, Smith and Jones kidnap Lynn and confront Gene with a simple choice -- kill California governor Eleanor Grant in 90 minutes or less, or Lynn will die. Watson is given a gun, six bullets, and a name tag, and he is told to go to the Westin Bonaventure Hotel and kill Eleanor, who is giving an afternoon speech. While Jones is watching Lynn in a van, Smith watches Watson in order to prevent Watson from alerting the authorities. Watson must quickly find some way to get himself and Lynn out of this seemingly impossible situation.

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Plot Keywords:

governor | accountant | hotel | conspiracy | time | 

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Taglines:

Ninety minutes. Six bullets. No choice.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence and language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 November 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

Gegen die Zeit

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$8,169,363 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The bulk of the movie was shot almost entirely hand-held using combinations of multi-camera and Steadicam set-ups. Even during the few actual dolly tracking sequences, the camera was hand-held and operated from a dolly by a seated cameraman.

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Goofs

When Watson pulls the Governor's picture from the envelope, we can see through the photo, revealing that the face is visible to him. In the next shot, Watson starts pulling when only the hairline is visible.

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Quotes

Gene Watson: You're out of your mind.
Mr. Smith: What's your point?

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Connections

Referenced in The Adam and Joe Show: Episode #2.1 (1997)

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Soundtracks

"Celebration"
Written by Ronald Bell, Claydes Smith, George Funky Brown (as George Brown),
Robert Kool Bell (as Robert Bell), James Taylor, Eumir Deodato, Robert Spike Mickens (as Robert Mickens),
, Earl Toon & Dennis D.T. Thomas (as Dennis Thomas)

User Reviews

Suspenseful and Entertaining.

I've read a lot of poor reviews for this movie. I don't understand it. The move is very good, it's not a 5 star movie, but it's still good. Johnny Depp (Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood) stars as an average guy whose wife has just recently died. One day on the way home, Depp and his daughter are kidnapped by two people, one of them being Christopher Walken (The Deer Hunter, The Dead Zone). They tell him that his daughter will die if he doesn't kill a certain person. He soon finds out that this person is the Governor of his state. They give him a gun and tell him that if she's not dead by a certain time his daughter is dead. This is a great premise for a suspense movie and is carried out very well. The great Charles S. Dutton (Rudy, Mimic) plays a shoe-shiner who helps Depp. Depp is solid as the father in a role that's different from a lot of his earlier roles. The always excellent Walken is, as usual, awesome as the bad guy, a role I always love to see him in. The film keeps you going, by offering a couple of nice twists. Ignore the reviews and rent this movie.