Deadline (2012)
Deadline is the story of the murder of an African American youth in rural Alabama that has gone uninvestigated, unsolved, and unpunished for almost twenty years. That changes when Nashville Times reporter Matt Harper (Steve Talley) meets an idealistic young blueblood bent on discovering the truth. Harper undertakes the investigation despite the opposition of his publisher, violent threats from mysterious forces, a break-up with his fiancée, and his father's cancer diagnosis.
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The Worst Film Ever
That was an excellent one.
The first must-see film of the year.
This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.
"Deadline" could have been a near-great film, but the script, acting, and particularly the music and pacing were all badly done. This is the best illustration I've ever seen that any movie needs to have a beginning, a middle and and ending, if only for the purpose of building the dramatic tension needed to propel the story to its conclusion. The rock songs that were heard intermittently throughout did absolutely nothing to set the mood or tone, amounting instead to an annoying distraction. One has to wonder how any newspaper short of the New York Times could afford to pay two reporters to work primarily on obituaries, as apparently was the case with the two male protagonists (Eric Roberts and Steve Talley). The scene in which an inept deputy is drugged is utterly bizarre and unbelievable. It is hardly likely that a young cub reporter could afford a sports car (I was unable to recognize the make or model) that would typically cost upwards of $40,000. The courtroom scene near the end is a prime example of self-indulgent use of dramatic license that could have been avoided in the hands of a better screenwriter. Various other set-ups, which I'll not describe as they might be considered "spoilers," simply didn't ring true, again probably the product of hurried, poorly-vetted screen writing. Did anyone ever inform the screenwriter of this movie that the craft is labor-intensive, and it requires painstaking hours to eliminate the bugs from a plot? Am I sorry that I watched the movie? No. Does "Deadline" stand as further proof that the film industry, far from being any sort of meritocracy, is a dysfunctional system in which---despite all of the barriers that stand in the way of innovation and the infusion of new talent---consistently produces mediocre product? Absolutely. John Streby, attorney and novelist; [email protected].
Dreadful, horrible, deplorable and extremely unpleasant. Those are just a few words that I would use to describe this movie. The fact that the incredible Eric Roberts is in this movie doesn't help one bit. For the first 20 minutes, the scenes that Roberts was in, all seemed like a cameo. Now for the acting. The acting wasn't bad...It was BEYOND bad. It made me think most of them just came out of a horrible high school play and then into this movie. And just what is with that boss of the newspaper? For those who haven't seen this movie yet, imagine the kid from Bad Santa. Now imagine him trying to be a very loud, mean and angry boss. That's what we got here. It just doesn't work! The soundtrack is very familiar. I know I heard it somewhere before.....Oh yeah, now I know. I heard it sometime during the 80's.
Good look and insight to social justice and how it still can cause hurt and pain today. As a journalism major in college, it's great to see a film that showcases what we do and how this medium, whether it's online or print, is very important and can still be a hero! Please save jobs and get a subscription and support these hard workers. You never know what facts and stories they may uncover and bring justice to.As the story starts unfolding, you appreciate the quirky relationship between the two main leads, Eric Roberts and Steve Talley. (loved that car)Another unexpected surprise is JD Souther, who I know from being a Nashville native and musician at heart.
I had the pleasure of seeing this film a few weeks ago at one of its premieres. It was even better than I had expected as I had heard about it several months ago. Being a southerner, I was over anxious to see this movie since it was based on a true story. Eric Roberts & Steve Talley both deliver an excellent performance in this film - very different roles for what we normally see from them on film. It was also wonderful to see a movie with such strong themes woven throughout - like family, race, & redemption. It reminded me of a Time to Kill & The Help. I encourage everyone to take the time to see this movie, but also check out the trailer at deadline film.com. You will not disappointed!