30 Miles (2005)

An Exercise In Nonsense

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

30 Miles is a film that has clearly been made on a tiny budget, but the evidence isn't found in poor acting or cheap sets, but more from the fact that 90% of the action takes place in the front seat of an SUV. And most of that takes place at night, so most of the film could have been shot in someone's garage for all we know. This isn't a bad thing: the claustrophobic feel of the set adds to the uneasiness that weaves in and out of Cliff Gober's script. The actors are of an acceptable quality, although both were prone to over-emoting at times, and the film's twist, while going a long way towards explaining the behaviour of one of the characters is effective until you start thinking about it – poor Ernie/Paul could have died of thirst in the desert (which would have achieved his objective when you think about it) before he found a suitable accomplice. Given it's two-man and largely one-set scenario, this is probably more suited to a one-hour TV play format than a movie – even given its relatively short running time. The readiness of both characters to bare their souls so readily also grates a little. This is still worth a look though, and shows how a reasonably intelligent and well-written script can make up for lack of budget.

Was there uneven acting? Absolutely! Was it believable in every twist and turn of the dialog? Not really. Yet, this movie is a prime example of the sum being bigger than it's parts. Even if the acting is at times waaay overwrought, and the changes in the mood of the conversation occasionally seemed artificial, it still worked for three reasons: 1) The characters, even if not totally believable, were interesting 2) you couldn't predict where the movie was going, and 3) it never got pretentious. If you can handle the movie's shortcomings, ie disregard some of overacting, this movie is, with what very little it actually has beyond a GREAT concept and story, and mediocre execution, immensely entertaining, and ultimately works because at least some of the gripes that you might have underway, makes sense at the end. Had the acting been better, and some of the more outrageous turns in the conversation been cut or altered, this movie could have been a masterpiece, but as it is, still ends up being more than worth seeing.

Strange and wonderful little film. Two characters. A simple dialog. 99% of the film takes place in the front seat of an SUV. And yet this film had me from the first frame. I found myself watching every nuance of expression, listening to every word, seeking insights to the characters, as these two characters unfolded their lives, letting down their guards, little by little, until the final climactic unexpected moment. Sorry for those who didn't catch the beauty in this small tale. One of those little films I'd never heard of like "Rush Hour" with Danny Aiello and "Around The Bend" with Christopher Walken and Michael Caine, which I simply discovered on the walls of my local video store and which apparently didn't make it to the big screen on the west coast....."30 Miles" is definitely worth the see. I gave it a "10" more because I wanted to weight the vote so more people might watch this neatly tied together little piece.

This was a good thriller with Lawerence Hilton Jacobs originally from the TV show Welcome Back Carter. He has come a long way in his acting. Although this movie is titled 30 Miles it covers a lot of action in this hour and a half movie. You are always left wondering who is the good guy and who is the bad guy! The scenes between the two passengers jumps back and forth between intense confrontations and male bonding. I never guessed the ending but WOW what an ending. I would recommend this movie to rent or buy. I found this movie at Blockbuster and will plan on renting more of this type of movie. Another movie I plan on renting next is Severed Ties. This is about two brothers caught in a moral dilemma.