Down Time

I am a big fan of low budget independent filmmaking and Sean

Wilson (11) Down Time is a maverick achievement. Shot on a

shoe string budget (check the stats), this is no Hollywood action

film, but what you get is from the gut film making. Gritty

performances by WilliamVan Nolan and Sam McBride make this a

stand out film in the low budget arena. Some of the card playing

scenes reminded me of the film Clerks (1994) with lots of off the

wall snappy dialogue. You could also compare it to some the jail

scenes in Jim Jarmusch's Down by law (1986) both films have

lots of long still shots that just kind of hand there and make you

feel the oppressive boredom of prison life. Sure there are some technical problems with this film and some

of the side characters acting is weak but you have to be able to

over look that. Down Time is what independent filmmaking is all

about.

Get ready to have your comfortable, cozy little spot in front of your television turned into a sweaty prison cell, because Sean Wilson's semi-autobiographical movie, Down Time, will do just that and more! This docudrama about one man's journey into the hell that is our prison system will twist your gut more than just a little as you watch the hero's descent into the depths of prison grime and despair. This film is so real you can almost smell it!

Director Sean Wilson manages to accomplish this gritty sense of realism through the uncompromising use of realistic elements - starting with an unadulterated story and followed up with real locations of the casting of many ex-cons and gang members throughout the film. Let's face it - there simply aren't a lot of directors out there who have Wilson's combination of film sense and life experience . . . maybe Polanski could have come close if he'd stuck around and done his time! While the film does not have the polished look and feel of some of it's high-budget Hollywood produced counterparts, it makes up for this lack with it's refusal to shrink-wrap the story and scenes into some easily digested product targeted for mass consumption. We all get a birds eye view of the horror, despair, and ennui that make up the daily life of the incarcerated. An added element of empathy is woven in to the story by skillful interlacing of our protagonists memories, comments, and dreams while he `plays the survival game' each day in prison. The glimpse into the daily lives and routines of the incarcerated that Down Time delivers cannot be found elsewhere . . . unless of course you are prison-bound, in which case you might still want to rent or buy this film . . . just to study up a bit. I highly recommend this film not only to those looking for entertainment, but also for those who lack an understanding of the daily lives of those society has chosen to condemn. Check it out!

Down time is definitely a low-budget film so don't think you are going to get some big budget Hollywood prison action film like the Rock or the ever so formulaic and forgettable Half Past Dead. No what you are going to get a inherently flawed indie film that never got the million dollar make over that films like El Mariachi and Clerks did. Both those films are classics but we would not be so familiar with if the studios did not put their muscle behind them.

Down Time has many technical problems and most of the acting is amateurish but the Dialog is great and it has lots of inside jokes for those who are familiar with the criminal justice system. I like the loose "ducu-drama" style that gives the viewer the feel of being inside a real prison. It has some very graphic drug scenes that to a trained I seem real. Over all I think this is one of the better low-budget films I have seen.

This is film that clearly shows it's budgetary limitations. It has stretches of muddy audio and some of the acting is pretty bad. Given that, I still like this movie. It has a raw scrappy feel, great dialog and some very evocative characters.

You get a tremendous sense of the tug-o-war between good and evil, raging inside the head of slim (the main character). The film starts off with a bang, and, although it lags a bit in the middle, there is enough humor and character development to carry us along. The scenes with the main convicts sitting around playing cards passing the time are funny and believable. I found myself almost laughing out loud. After that the film starts to meander a bit but pulls it together in the end and manages to deliver a anti drug message. Over all I would recommend it but know going in this is a low budget independent film.

I found this movie provocative and gritty. sometimes it moved along a little too slow for my taste but as a viewer of many films, i was completely impressed with the story the filmmaker introduced us to and the style in which he did so. there are some very funny moments and some very disturbing moments. for a first film on a shoe string budget, this director shows much potential for great future projects. good luck!