28 Days

Rated [PG-13], minutes
Starring Sandra Bullock, Viggo Mortensen, Steve Buscemi, Dominic West, Diane Lane
Screenplay by Susannah Grant
Directed by Betty Thomas
website: www.soapcity.com/28days

Review by Paul Fischer. Cranky's review here. Sandra Bullock StarTalk here

Sandra Bullock plays Gwen, a newspaper columnist, who with her boyfriend pops pills and drinks there way into a stupor until the day of her sister's wedding. Gwen crashes into the wedding cake, and on her conquest to get another one crashes the wedding limo into a house. She's faced with two options, 28 days of rehab or jail. Suffice it to say, she opts for the former.

It's been a long time since we've seen a Sandra Bullock film that actually worked. She seemed to have been caught in a rut, playing simplistic characters in below-average vehicles (let's not even discuss the likes of Speed 2 and Gun Shy). So naturally, one goes into a new Bullock film with increased trepidation, and 28 days proved no exception. So imagine one's surprise when realising that the woman has depth after all, and that the film, is a wonderfully emotive and honest look at difficult material. Yes, Bullock is back, and proving that she can, given the right material, arrest our attention, as she does beautifully and intelligently.

28 Days is a film about alcoholism and addiction, hardly the stuff of commercial American cinema, but under the assured direction of Betty Thomas and screenwriter Susannah Grant (Erin Brockovich), the film fines an astute balance between some deft character-based humour and the truthfulness of the movie's thematic elements. This is a film that does talk about the nature of addiction, the ability to be honest with yourself and those around you, and the importance of not facing a crisis solo. Apart from the luminous performance of Bullock, whose broad emotional range is clearly defined here? She's tough, raw, vulnerable and funny, as well as unashamedly honest. The actress receives strong support from a stellar supporting cast, including a surprisingly subdued and effective Steve Buscemi, as her counsellor. Smartly directed by Thomas, and well executed in all other tech departments, 28 Days is fresh and engaging while never straying from a sense of its honesty. This is one of those films that is surprising and entertaining, yet compelling and intelligent all the way.

Click to buy films by Betty Thomas

Click to buy films starring Sandra Bullock

Click to buy films starring Viggo Mortensen

The Cranky Critic® is a Registered Trademark of, and his website is Copyright © 1995-2008 by, Chuck Schwartz. Articles by Paul Fischer Copyright © 1999 - 2006 Paul Fischer. All images, unless otherwise noted, are property of,©, ®, T their respective studios and are used by permission. All Rights Reserved. Not to be used or copied for any commercial purpose. Academy AwardT(s) and Oscar®(s) are registered trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Amazon Honor System

Your Donations feed us

Buy Cranky stuff

Buy movie posters!

BUY THE LATEST DVDs
Star Wars Trilogy (Widescreen) DVD (Full Screen)	Lord of the Rings Trilogy DVD
Marx Bros collection	Alfred Hitchcock Collection
Looney Toons Volume 1 Volume 2 Volume 3 Rocky & Bullwinkle Season 1 Season 2 Season 3 Star Trek TOS Star Trek TNG Star Trek Films Criterion Collections

TV/Movie Collectibles

online movie critics

We're Kidlet Safe

Search engine
by FreeFind

click to search site

Now in Release:

The Band's Visit
Definitely Maybe
Hottie and the Nottie
In Bruges
Iron Man
Be Kind Rewind
Rambo
Cloverfield
Mad Money
U2 3D

28 Weeks Later
Black Book
Bourne Ultimatum
Brooklyn Rules
Death at a Funeral
Evening
The Ex
Fido
Georgia Rule
Grindhouse
Hairspray
Harry Potter - Phoenix
The Hoax
Hot Rod
I Know Who Killed Me
La Vie en Rose
License to Wed
Live Free or Die Hard
Mr. Brooks
Next
No Reservatons
Ocean's Thirteen
Perfect Stranger
Pirates of Caribbean
Ratatouille
Rescue Dawn
Rush Hour 3
Severance
Sicko
Simpsons Movie
Slow Burn
Snow Cake
Spider-Man 3
Stardust

DVDs on Sale:
300
Alice in Wonderland
Batman Begins
Bambi
Beauty and the Beast
Blade Runner
Bridge to Terabithia
Charlie + Chocolate Factory
Cinderella
E.T.
Fantastic Four
Forrest Gump
Gone With the Wind
Harry Potter yrs 1-3 set
Harry Potter Azkaban
The Incredibles
Indiana Jones trilogy
The Lion King
Lord of Rings 12 discs
Mary Poppins 40th LE
Ultimate Matrix set
Miss Potter
Monty Python - Grail
Napoleon Dynamite
Pirates of the Caribbean
Pirates of the Caribbean 2
Shrek
Shrek 2
Sin City
Sleeping Beauty
South Park Movie
Spider-Man
Spider-Man 2
Star Wars Ep. 1
Star Wars Ep. 2
Star Wars 3 Full Screen
Star Wars 3 l'box
Star Wars Trilogy (4-6)
The Island
War of the Worlds
X-Men
X-Men 2

The Cranky Critic® is a Registered Trademark of, and his website is Copyright © 1995-2008 by, Chuck Schwartz. Articles by Paul Fischer Copyright © 1999 - 2006 Paul Fischer. All images, unless otherwise noted, are property of,©, ®, ™ their respective studios and are used by permission. All Rights Reserved. Not to be used or copied for any commercial purpose. Academy Award™(s) and Oscar®(s) are registered trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.