Review of The 24th Day

Better than what I expected, but less than what I thought it was going to be while watching it, The 24th Day has the intimate atmosphere of a theater role play (actually, it is an adaptation). This, in my opinion, it's both the strong and the weak point of the film. While Speedman's and Marsden's performances are solid, the mere fact of thinking how intense the theater play should be leaves the movie as a weak effort. In movies like these, which mostly happens in a room and which are based upon direct confrontation of its characters, timing is what separates classics (Wait Until Dark) from nice but soon forgettable efforts.

While the dialogue is witty enough to keep you glued to the screen, the movie seems to collapse at the middle, when Marsden's character tries to empathize with his kidnapper talking about football at University. The script provides some twists and turns but at some point I started figuring out the result of the HIV test.

Actually, I don't consider that the point of the movie is to know if Speedman is going to kill Marsden or not. This is more a twisted drama which uses the structure of a thriller to serve us a discussion about labels, social misconceptions and fears. Unfotunately it fails to be relevant, but I must admit that the end leaves you thinking.

Good movie, but just don't expect too much. Wish I had seen it on theaters.