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Your Gateway to Music and More from a Christian Perspective Slow down as you approach the gate, and have your change ready.... |
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Your Gateway to Music and More from a Christian Perspective Slow down as you approach the gate, and have your change ready.... |
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Out of Time Matt Whitlock (Denzel Washington) is in trouble. Though he's a good cop, he's gotten himself involved in a dirty situation. Almost $500,000 in confiscated drug money is missing, and he's a potential suspect in the arson deaths of two people. The evidence might be circumstantial, but it all points his way. What's worse, his soon-to-be-ex-wife is the detective handling the case, and all Matt has going for him is his beach bum friend Chae (John Billingsley). Can Matt's smooth charm and quick mind save the day, or will he get set up and taken down? It's interesting to compare Out of Time with Clint Eastwood's new Mystic River. While the latter goes for a gritty naturalism with high-octane performances, Carl Franklin's Out of Time strives for mood rather than realism. That mood is sultry, sexy, and slick. So Denzel is surrounded by both beautiful police detective Eva Mendes and beautiful woman-in-trouble Sanaa Lathan. Mendes doesn't dress like any detective I've ever seen, with her skin-hugging dresses and extremely form-fitting tops. But when she slides up next to Denzel, you don't care if she acts like a cop; all you need to know is that she acts like a woman. At least a woman starring in a movie set in the Florida Keys. It's a nice role for Mendes, who's been stuck with thankless supporting turns in movies like 2 Fast 2 Furious and All About the Benjamins. Here she gets to stretch a bit, and she proves herself both alluring and compelling. Lathan, one of my favorite actresses, doesn't fare as well. She's much better as a strong woman in films like Brown Sugar and, especially, Love and Basketball. Having to lean on a man, even one as solid as Denzel, doesn't suit her. Denzel is of course Denzel. He knows how to flash his smile, lower his voice, and purr for the ladies. He also can handle a chase scene and a climactic shootout. And even if he's coasting through this one, which he is, there's more than enough charisma to satisfy the audience. Out of Time's story might be outlandish, but its vibe makes it so we barely notice. J. Robert Parks
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