Across the Hall

there's only one thing i can say about this movie - "WATCH IT"!!

what a great story and great acting. i noticed some of the other reviewers labeled this movie as predictable and boorish. i completely disagree. this movie has great style and personality and a consistency that never changes.

the setting is an old (but once very nice) inner city hotel going to seed and it lends to the story just the level of character needed to support the background of our characters - Julian, Terry, and June. none of these characters come from a desperate or needy background and are most likely normal middle class people that find themselves in a desperate, needy, and dangerous situation. and they are unprepared for the consequences of their actions - maybe!

one more delightful element in this movie is the use of color! a great job in lighting and photography!

An interesting story, though a little predictable.

The suspense was upheld throughout the movie, and there was real tension in many scenes, accomplished through a nerve-wracking score and drawn-out scenes that got my teeth grinding.

I immensely enjoyed the cinematography and effects .. it created a dark and brooding atmosphere that had me mourning the conclusion before it came about.

The acting was fairly good, no real complaints. I especially enjoyed the hotel concierge character, who added an old-school feel to the film.

Overall, I definitely enjoyed the movie, although I found the story to be almost too simple for its length; it felt like a short story stretched to fit a feature length film.

This movie may not have gotten very high marks, but if you love film noir you will probably like it. It's actually a good movie, I think you just have to really appreciate the cinematography and the dark ambiance of film noir, as well as the sort of slow pacing as well. But the film is well done, it creates intensity through its slow build up, as well as the scoring, acting, and the way it was edited and produced. It also stars brittany murphy in one of her last roles who is plays the role very well. I like how the film is really about the subtle nuances of how the characters deliver lines and interact and little mannerisms and such. It also has a sort of old timey look because of being filmed in an old hotel so that contributes to the ambiance quite well. While it may be a small independent low budget film and not a big production I think that all of the artistic integrity is there and that it was a very enjoyable watch. I think that a lot of people don't appreciate that old style and are looking for something more fast paced. But if you are looking for something a bit more laid back and appreciate the finer art of film making I think you should give it a try.

Okay being 100% truthful, I expected nothing of Brittany Murphy... I do not dislike her, in fact I rather enjoy her but her roles are often up in the air... NOT HERE. She was good where it mattered here and all characters were believable. Yes, clearly it was a film noir Type horror, some people missed that but seriously, if you wanted a cheesy comedy or perhaps some more unrealistic plot twist a cringe scenes or a fake horror movie with vibrant with colors, perhaps you should've went for Saw or Scary movie. Bottom line it was well made and very suspenseful. Less predictable then the usual horror film. I gave it an 8 in consideration to the category this falls under, A film Noir type Thriller. Tasteful in my opinion, it will seem slow if you are looking for action but if you want deep, suspenseful, well written horror and you have 1 hour and 30 min... Go for it... maybe not on a first date but still worth the watch.

Fun Fact(lol): In any case, well done and for those who missed it, this was a ReMake of a 2005 short film (for those who wanted a shorter version your wish came true). Then got funded and made a full length version (The original June came back as Anna).

The unbalanced Terry (Danny Pino) calls his best friend Julian (Mike Vogel) that is having a bath telling that his beloved fiancée June (Brittany Murphy) is cheating him. Terry has followed her to the decadent Riverview Hotel, where she checked in to meet her lover in room 507. Terry explains to Julian that he brought a revolver to shoot her lover and is waiting for him in room 508, but his friend asks him to be calm that he will meet Terry in the hotel. Surprisingly Julian leaves the bathroom and explains the situation to June in the room in the beginning of a tense and dramatic night.

"Across the Hall" is a dark slow paced thriller in the style of film- noir developed through a non-linear screenplay with many flashbacks. My only remark is the 88 minutes running time that could be a little shorter; anyway the pace magnifies the dramatic situation of the characters. I have really felt sad seeing the last work of the talented and gorgeous Brittany Murphy, who died so young. The music score is another plus in this good film that is neither a masterpiece nor an awful flick as indicated in some reviews but a decent low-budget movie. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Correndo Contra o Tempo" ("Running Against Time")