’15 Minutes’

Fresh and original, this film simultaneously serves up eye-popping excitement along with thought-provoking social satire concerning the sensational content of television.   [R]

By: Kam Williams

Edward Burns, left, and Robert DeNiro star in the action thriller 15 Minutes.

   Sixties pop icon Andy Warhol proclaimed "In the future, everyone will be famous for 15 minutes." That prediction has been fulfilled by a media industry that indiscriminately seizes on all things sensational, resulting in fleeting fame for such momentary curiosities as slasher Lorena Bobbitt, flasher Monica Lewinsky and masher Joey Buttafuocco.

   Written and directed by John Herzfeld, whose work you may recall from 2 Days in the Valley, 15 Minutes is the most intelligent inquiry into the trend toward tabloid journalism since Wag the Dog. That film, which also starred Robert DeNiro, focused on the manipulation of truth for political purposes. Here, the issue is the gratuitous celebration of gore, carnality and even evil in the quest for ratings.
   Given the option fatigue created by today’s cable TV world of 100-plus channels, the competition for market share is fierce, leading to attention-grabbing, hyper-reality programming. 15 Minutes explores how far the sensational content of television might go to gratify a seemingly insatiable bloodthirst for shocking imagery. Fresh and original, the movie simultaneously serves up eye-popping excitement along with thought-provoking social satire.
   The gifted cast executes the script nearly flawlessly. In addition to two-time Oscar-winner Robert DeNiro, there’s the talented Edward Burns, who looks like a cross between Tom Cruise and John Cusack. Burns burst on the scene in 1995 when he wrote, directed and starred in The Brothers McMullen, a micro-budget indie that he produced for $25,000. Here, Burns exudes the star quality likely to establish him as a matinée idol. Other standouts include multiple Emmy-winner Kelsey Grammer, the versatile Avery Brooks and Kim Cattrall. Director Herzfeld is to be applauded for stocking his cameo cast with grade-A talent such as David Alan Grier and Charlize Theron. Several celebrities make appearances as themselves, such as Bruce Cutler — attorney for mob boss John Gotti — talk show host Roseanne and TV reporter Peter Arnett.
   Set in Manhattan, the film opens in a downtrodden section of the city with a pair of newly arrived Eastern European emigres confronting a co-conspirator for their share of a bank heist pulled back home. Emil, played by Karel Roden, the Czech, is a camera-toting film buff who came to this country to make movies. Oleg, played by Oleg Taktarov, the Russian, is a crazed, sadistic maniac who loves America because "No one is responsible for what they do." Combined, their perverted, media-savvy interpretation of the American Dream puts them on a homicidal rampage that is caught on video and made available to the highest bidder.
   Seasoned detective Eddie Fleming, played by DeNiro, and inexperienced fire marshal Jordy Warsaw, played by Burns, meet at the scene of a suspicious fire with several corpses charred beyond recognition. The presence of an accelerant implies arson. Further investigation and autopsies indicate murder.
   At the core of the movie is the camaraderie that develops between the wily Eddie and the raw Jordy, as they collaborate to crack the case despite the disapproval of higher-ups in their respective departments. The NYPD and NYFD are engaged in an egotistical tug-of-war, holding competing briefings and news conferences for the media circus surrounding the celebrated murder case.
   Meanwhile, Robert Hawkins, played by Grammer, the host of a tabloid TV news show, is approached by the killers, who offer him exclusive rights to film of their sadistic slaughter for $ 1 million. Hawkins, whose motto is, "If it bleeds, it leads," has to decide whether to risk not only losing the tape, but also losing ratings to an equally cutthroat competitor. Cops, killers and news media dangerously align in an escalating firestorm.
Rated R for nudity, rape, gratuitous killings, sex-linked violence and harsh profanity.