Taglines: Within 90 minutes, someone is going to die… And the clock is ticking.
Nick of Time movie storyline. Gene Watson (Johnny Depp) is a public accountant who arrives on a train at Union Station in Los Angeles, accompanied by his 6-year-old daughter Lynn. Because of his ordinary looks, he is approached by a pair of sinister people named Smith and Jones. Pretending to be cops, Smith and Jones kidnap Lynn and confront Gene with a simple choice — kill California governor Eleanor Grant in 90 minutes or less, or Lynn will die.
Watson is given a gun, six bullets, and a name tag, and he is told to go to the Westin Bonaventure Hotel and kill Eleanor, who is giving an afternoon speech. While Jones is watching Lynn in a van, Smith watches Watson in order to prevent Watson from alerting the authorities. Watson must quickly find some way to get himself and Lynn out of this seemingly impossible situation.
Nick of Time is a 1995 American neo noir political thriller film, directed by John Badham, and starring Johnny Depp, Christopher Walken, Charles S. Dutton, Peter Strauss, Roma Maffia, Gloria Reuben, Marsha Mason, Peter Strauss, Gloria Reuben, Armando Ortega and Cynthena Sanders. It is noteworthy for taking place in real time.
About the Story
The film opens with Gene Watson (Johnny Depp), a mild-mannered, widowed accountant arriving with his daughter Lynn at the Union Station in Los Angeles. As Watson makes a pay phone call informing an unidentified person that his train was late, two mysterious strangers in suits, known only as Mr. Smith (Christopher Walken) and Ms. Jones (Roma Maffia), survey the station from a catwalk, discussing a yet-to-be-elaborated scheme. Noticing Watson retaliate against a skater who was harassing his daughter, Smith and Jones set their sights on him and swiftly approach the pair.
Showing a badge, the two strangers convince Watson that they are police officers and whisk both father and daughter into a van without justification. Once in the vehicle, Watson begins to notice things are not right and gets nervous, but Smith subsequently pistol whips him in the leg to get his attention. Smith then informs Watson that they will kill his daughter by 1:30 p.m. unless he murders a woman depicted in a photograph. He soon learns that the woman is State Governor Eleanor Grant and realizes that killing her would be a suicide mission.
Once at the Bonaventure Hotel, where a number of campaign appearances are being held, Watson makes several attempts to warn people about his situation, but Smith consistently follows him around, taunts and viciously beats him whenever he does not make a move. Watson manages to find a young campaign assistant, Krista Brooks, who believes Watson’s story and encourages him to report the matter to the governor’s husband, Brendan Grant. Once in his suite, however, Brendan and a campaign lobbyist appear to disbelieve the story, and before anything more can be said, Smith shows up in the room and fatally shoots Krista, causing a tense scuffle between Watson and Smith.
Watson awakens after unconsciousness and finds nearly everyone on the campaign, including the governor’s staff and husband, are involved in the plot, with an unnamed right-wing lobbyist masterminding it all in revenge for the governor not carrying out her campaign promises to his interests.
Nick of Time (1995)
Directed by: John Badham
Starring: Johnny Depp, Christopher Walken, Charles S. Dutton, Peter Strauss, Roma Maffia, Gloria Reuben, Marsha Mason, Peter Strauss, Gloria Reuben, Armando Ortega, Cynthena Sanders
Screenplay by: Patrick Sheane Duncan
Production Design by: Philip Harrison
Cinematography by: Roy H. Wagner
Film Editing by: Frank Morriss, Kevin Stitt
Costume Design by: Mary E. Vogt
Set Decoration by: Julia Badham
Art Direction by: Eric Orbom
Music by: Arthur B. Rubinstein
MPAA Rating: R for violence and language.
Distributed by: Paramount Pictures
Release Date: November 22, 1995
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