Time Without Pity is definitely a very interesting movie. It’s one of those stories about trying to stay within the realm of the law for as long as possible and only really moving to vigilantism once the options have dried up. It’s a suspenseful mystery and definitely one that has good replay value. I’d recommend it to anyone who likes this kind of murder mystery.

The film starts with a girl getting murdered and so David flies over because his son is the primary suspect. Unfortunately it took a very long time to find David because he was off being drunk. There is a lot of tension here because David was never really around when it counted. Even now, he has only arrived when there are 24 hours left before Alec is to be executed. The reason David didn’t find out sooner is because he was stuck in a treatment facility after being super drunk again. David may have failed Alec in the past but he swears to do right by him this time. He will find the actual killer and save Alec.

The interesting thing about this film is that we see Robert as the murderer in the very first scene. So we know the whole time who the killer is and we’re just waiting for David to put the pieces together. The film allows Robert to look real crazy the whole time since there’s no pretense for trying to make him look even remotely likable. That might sound like maybe David should suspect something but honestly I don’t think that would be enough. The fact that the guy is crazy and abusive doesn’t automatically make him the murderer or anything. Lots of jerks out there after all but they’re not going around sticking it to people.

You are definitely rooting for his downfall the whole time though. This is definitely the kind of film where nobody is perfect though. While we know that Alec didn’t murder the girl, it doesn’t help matters that he didn’t have the best reputation. He also likes Robert’s wife Honor which isn’t good. Keep in mind that his girlfriend his dead but he is still excited to see Honor and have a moment while in jail. I don’t think that should be a priority when you only have a few hours left to live. Or if he’s thinking it doesn’t matter since he’s so close to death that’s arguably just as bad. Alec panics a lot and everything too but I suppose since he’s about to die I’ll cut him some slack there.

As for David, well he’s trying hard to get to the truth of the matter which is great. Full points there of course but then you also have to consider the fact that David being drunk all the time didn’t help matters. He drinks several times during the movie as well and breaks down in a few instances. He was still able to come up with a good plan though which helps. Ultimately he ends on a high note which makes up for a lot of his issues early on. How you finish the race is a big part of how likable a character is after all.

His friend the attorney was also really good. The guy really did everything he could and postponed the execution multiple times. Without him, David would have absolutely been too late so he definitely owes him a whole lot of credit. There are also a few other suspects in the film from David’s point of view like the secretary Vickie or Alec’s best friend Brian. Brian in particular always appears to be hiding a whole lot and playing both sides of the field. It’s why us knowing who the murderer is makes things interesting as you are forced to watch David bark up the wrong tree at times.

There technically isn’t a whole lot of action in this film which makes sense because why would the murderer want to take any chances right? It’s mainly a battle of words with Robert being the only one who is panicking the whole time. David knows deep down that the odds are stacked against him because without any fingerprints or witnesses at the scene of the crime, his only real chance is a complete confession from the murderer. Why would the murderer do that though? There would be no benefit to him, particularly when he knows that the case can’t be solved.

So the film actually addresses this and does it better than I anticipated. I thought we’d have a lazy moment where the villain admits to the crime in front of a bunch of people or something like that, but this doesn’t happen. The villain is caught without confessing to the crime and the way the movie does this is really creative. It goes back to the vigilantism part I referenced earlier. The plan is certainly not legal and actually relies on a lot of deception. It’s a plan that involves a heavy price so most wouldn’t do this even if they thought of it. So the plan worked well here in showing just how far David would go to save his son and it’s also a plan that is realistic enough to work. The villain didn’t really have an out by this point and was completely outplayed.

Overall, Time Without Pity is a really fun film. It’s also a super clever one that tackles what would otherwise be a standard plot in a new way. The first of course is the fact that we know who the murderer is. It’s not the first film to do that of course but the vast majority do not so it’s still a fresh take. Additionally you have the fact that the main character has to solve this case in under 24 hours or Alec will be executed even if he is innocent. So you’ve got the time factor there to make things even more urgent. It’s a really solid set of parameters to fit the film into and it works out really well. The ending is very satisfying and so in the end I would definitely recommend watching this film. It has aged extremely well.

Overall 7/10