Forget the title and just enjoy the movie

Don’t you just hate it when they give movies really bland names that tell you nothing about the story? Usually the title begins with a preposition: Under Suspicion, In The Bedroom, Out Of Sight, Under Fire. Out Of Time, the new Denzel Washington thriller, is another example. (What’s worse is when they rename movies, in effect implying that people are too dumb to "get" titles like City By The Sea, The Quiet American or The Ref. So they rename these films The Suspect, The Spy and Hostile Hostages respectively.)

Still, missing out on Out Of Time just because of its lousy title would be a minor crime. This is no box office blockbuster, but it’s a solid, taut thriller in the noir tradition directed by Carl Franklin, who worked with Washington before on Devil in a Blue Dress. The two fit together like sheepskin gloves, Washington working his easy charm and Franklin setting his lens loose on the sleepy Florida town of Banyan Key (population: 1,384).

Local chief of police Matt Lee Whitlock doesn’t have much trouble keeping Banyan Key crime-free, but he does have some trouble keeping his hands off local married gal Anne Merai (Sanaa Lathen), even though the ink is still wet on the divorce papers from his estranged wife Alex (Eva Mendes). When he learns Anne Merai has terminal cancer, he crosses the line to secure money for expensive treatments in Switzerland. Even worse, he becomes the main suspect in an arson case where two dead bodies are found.

Once all these plot points are set in motion, the rest of the movie is simply an enjoyable chase flick as Whitlock works like hell to undo his misguided good deed. Watch Washington sweat as he tracks down evidence and suspects who can clear him in a race against time, much like Jack Bauer, the beleaguered government agent played by Keifer Sutherland in the TV show 24 (recently dubbed into Tagalog for local viewers).

At this point, Denzel Washington can pretty much do no wrong. With two Oscars and a reputation for strong roles with a hint of social conscience, Washington has established himself as one of Hollywood’s bankable leading men, black or otherwise. But every once in a while, he just likes to do something fun and commercial.

So watch Out Of Time just to see Washington work magic with his furrowed brow, his double-take and his lazy charm. Watch Washington dangle from a hotel window by one hand. Watch Eva Mendes in a tight white blouse, fuming that her soon-to-be-divorced hubby doesn’t take her seriously. Watch Dean Cain in a goatee as the cuckolded husband. Catch John Billingsley’s amusing character work as Chae, the helpful county medical examiner.

Yes, the situations in Out Of Time are probably as old as noir itself. True, the implausibilities pile up left and right. You’d have to be a movie retard not to predict much of the plot twists coming a mile away. And yet, it’s hard to put down a movie that, in the best Hitchcock tradition, has you rooting for the hero within the first eight minutes.

Movies set in sleepy Florida towns tend to stir up more mischief than those in real life. Think of Body Heat, the William Hurt/Kathleen Turner noir homage that had bodies stacking up, even as the femme fatale remained cool and unruffled. Or Blood and Wine, the underrated Bob Rafelson thriller starring Jack Nicholson, Stephen Dorff, Michael Caine and a young Jennifer Lopez. So we’re already prepared to accept that there could be a half million dollars in seized drug money just lying around in the sheriff’s safe in this sleepy little town. And we’re programmed to predict that it won’t be there for long.

Along the way, there’s the traditional cats-and-dogs bickering with Mendes, who’s been paired with Washington before in Training Day, and who doesn’t quite seem sharp enough to outrank Whitlock, but still looks fetching in a clingy white top and skirt. The scene in the sheriff’s office where Whitlock tries to prevent about eight different pieces of damning evidence from falling into her hands is worth the price of a ticket alone.

As likeable as he is, Washington’s character is definitely a flawed hero, and that’s probably what makes Out Of Time a notch better than most action-chase movies: we know he’s done wrong, and it’s interesting to see how he’s going to dig his way out. As in all Carl Franklin’s movies, character is the main engine driving our interest in the action. He finds little quirks in people (like the elderly white woman who can’t tell black men apart) that are a tad overdone, but amusing nonetheless. And he lets Washington do what he does best with a stock character: make Matt Lee Whitlock all his own. If you can build a better, more interesting hero (in the noir tradition), the movie audience will at least follow you to the finish line.