I remember seeing the trailer for 'Crimetime' back in the VHS days. I didn't bother watching it then, but the look combined with starring Stephen Baldwin, coming from dtv company Vidmark made me think it'll be a routine crime slasher. So imagine my surprise sitting down for it now,. Nearly two hour long runtime and also not the throwaway serial killer thriller I thought it would be.
Sidney (Pete Postlethwaite) kills a woman and the murder is made part of a sensationalized reality tv show called Crimetime who hires all too serious method actor Bobby Mahon (Baldwin) to play the role. It grabs Sidney's interest and gives Bobby a lift, but when the killings stop so does any sort of sick & twisted fame for both men. Sid resumes now solely to be famous and Bobby blurs the line between fantasy & reality losing himself to the role.
I'm in the minority of people who enjoyed what this had to say. Neither man is likable - one for obvious reasons, the other because he gets a big head - but the descent into delusions of grandeur worked. People being murdered capitalized on for money isn't done over the top or with a heavy hand trying to install some deep message. There's some silly moments, but they don't distract. The weakest portion is the failing relationship between Bobby and his actress girlfriend (Sadie Frost).
Oddly the most commonly available version of 'Crimetime' in North America has a 95 min runtime. I'm curious if this tighter version is a better film, but otherwise I was happy with what this 'original' cut did. Postlethwaite is a fine actor and does a good job of bringing a sick man to life. Stephen Baldwin is no thespian actor, but he makes the role work for him and actually shows some range. The idea of the media, tv, serial killers might be played out material past or present, but I liked this little film blemishes and all.
