Out of Time

Plot

Director Carl Franklin and actor Denzel Washington team up again (following 1995's Devil in a Blue Dress) for the crime thriller Out of Time. Washington stars as Matt Lee Whitlock, the well-respected chief of police in a quiet Florida community. While in the process of getting a divorce from fellow detective Alexandra (Eva Mendez), Matt engages in an affair with his high school sweetheart Anne (Sanaa Lathan). Unfortunately, Anne is married to the extremely jealous Chris (Dean Cain), a former pro football player who works as a security guard. After a major murder occurs in the community, Matt finds himself the main suspect. With the help of his medical examiner pal Chae (John Billingsley), Matt must solve the case before he is found guilty himself. Out of Time premiered at the 2003 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

Review

Judging by its box-office receipts, the anonymously titled thriller Out of Time proved that audiences aren't quite ready to see Denzel Washington squirm for the better part of 100 minutes. It's a shame, really, because Carl Franklin's sultry, funny, deeply ironic crime yarn provides the venerable performer with one of his best roles, and gives him the opportunity to play against his cool, collected (and since Training Day, arrogantly menacing) persona. Dave Collard's script mines its twists and turns from the best film noirs of the '40s and grafts them onto a tart marital-reconciliation subplot. It's the kind of material Hitchcock would've relished interpreting, and Franklin proves up to the task, even if he occasionally loses grip on the film's light-but-menacing tone -- particularly in the straight-to-video riverboat climax -- in a way that Hitch would've never allowed. Eva Mendes and the redoubtable Sanaa Lathan make the most of their limited screen time, the former pulling off a strong, sympathetic performance comparable to the one that put Jennifer Lopez on the map five years prior in Out of Sight. It's Washington, however, who holds the film together, never currying easy audience sympathy as he doggedly, sneakily, and (at times) hilariously attempts to cover his tracks. ~ Michael Hastings, Rovi

Cast

• Denzel Washington - Matt Lee Whitlock
• Eva Mendes - Alexandra Diaz Cole
• Sanaa Lathan - Ann Merai Harrison
• Dean Cain - Chris Harrison
• John Billingsley - Chae

Tony Dalton - Robert Baker; Robert Baker - Tony Dalten; Alex Carter - Dr. Cabbot; Antoni Corone - Deputy Baste; Terry Loughlin - Agent Stark; Nora Dunn - Dr. Donovan; James Murtaugh - Dr. Frieland; Ed Amatrudo - Arson Investigator; Evelyn Brooks - Judy's Mom; Parris Buckner - Dr. Shider; O.L. Duke - Detective Bronze; Tim Ware - Fire Chief; Arian Waring Ash - Dental Assistant; Jesse B'Franklin - Ramona; Tom Hillmann - Robert Guillette; David J. Negron Jr. - Sketch Artist; Neil Brown, Jr. - Morgue Attendant; Veryl E. Jones - Agent Fetzer; Elena Maria Garcia - Bartender; Sharlene Garcia - Sharlene; Suzanne Grant - Screaming Woman; Dorothy A. Healy - Woman in Lobby; Eric Hissom - Hotel Clerk; Ronald J. Madoff - Detective; Steve Raulerson - Man Serving Divorce Papers; Peggy Sheffield - Judy Anderson; Mike Pniewski - Agent White

Credit

Gary Kosko - Art Director, Dan Genetti - Associate Producer, Steve Traxler - Associate Producer, Gina White - Associate Producer, Mali Finn - Casting, Sharen Davis - Costume Designer, Barry K. Thomas - First Assistant Director, Carl Franklin - Director, Robert Brown - Second Unit Director, Carole Kravetz-Aykanian - Editor, Jon Berg - Executive Producer, Kevin Reidy - Executive Producer, Alex Gartner - Executive Producer, Damien Saccani - Executive Producer, Graeme Revell - Composer (Music Score), Paul Peters - Production Designer, Theo Van de Sande - Cinematographer, Neal H. Moritz - Producer, Jesse B'Franklin - Producer, Kathryn Peters-Cardinale - Set Designer, Walter Anderson - Sound/Sound Designer, Greg Hedgepath - Sound/Sound Designer, Dave Collard - Screenwriter, Josh Bleibtreu - Additional Cinematography, Gary Gegan - Re-Recording Mixer, Matthew Iadarola - Re-Recording Mixer, Greg Hedgepath - Supervising Sound Editor

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