The Desperate Hour

"Time is running out."

2022 1h 24m EN

😐

6.0

MID

🥫

27%

ROTTEN

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

4.9

IMDB

★6.0TMDB · 491🥫27%Rotten Tomatoes●35Metacritic★4.9IMDB · 8,518

Thriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A woman desperately races to save her child after police place her hometown on lockdown due to an active shooter incident.

“Time is running out.”

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Cast

Naomi Watts
Amy Carr
Colton Gobbo
Noah Carr
Sierra Maltby
Emily
Michelle Johnston
Heather (voice)
Woodrow Schrieber
Detective Paulson (voice)
David Reale
CJ (voice)
Jason Clarke
Greg Minor (voice)
Debra Wilson
Dedra Wilkinson (voice)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Phillip Noyce
Writers: Chris Sparling
Languages: English
Countries: Canada, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

84 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 4 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Canada, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Phillip Noyce, shot by John Brawley. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Fil Eisler. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Lee Haugen shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Naomi Watts and Colton Gobbo and Sierra Maltby carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Time is running out.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Phillip Noyce directs. John Brawley behind the camera. Fil Eisler scores. Lee Haugen cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Canada, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

184 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Released 4 years ago.
3International production across 2 countries: Canada, United States of America.
4Directed by Phillip Noyce, shot by John Brawley. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Fil Eisler. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Lee Haugen shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Naomi Watts and Colton Gobbo and Sierra Maltby carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Time is running out.".
9IMDB entry: tt13133936 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Released under 10 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: John Brawley
Original score: Fil Eisler
Editing: Lee Haugen
Production design: Zosia Mackenzie
Makeup / hair: Nathan Rival
Sound: Alan deGraaf
Runtime: 84 min · 1h 24m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: The Desperate Hour (2022)
Rotten Tomatoes: 27% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 35/100
IMDB rating: 4.9/10 · 8,518 votes
MPAA: PG-13

Also by

Phillip Noyce

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Community reviews

What people are saying

tmdb280390232022-08-28
★ 5/10
Just the other day I was appalled at how the new Texas Chainsaw Massacre invokes a real-life tragedy such as a high school shooting to justify its brand of gratuitous violence. On the other side of the spectrum is a film like The Desperate Hour – a reminder that the most powerful stories about such tragic events don’t focus on violence but on people. The Desperate Hour (which never even makes it physically to the school) doesn’t reach the virtuoso heights of Gus Van Sant’s Elephant or Denis Villeneuve’s Polytechnique, and it fails to do so because it botches the third act, but remains nonetheless a poignant effort. Naomi Watts deserves quite a bit of credit for a performance that is as demanding physically as it is emotionally. She is in every single scene and her voice is almost exclusively the only one we don’t hear coming out of her cellphone; not only does she have to carry the entire movie all by herself, but she literally picks it up and runs with it. As the mother of a student attending a high school where there is an active shooter, this is inevitably somewhat of a one-note role, but sustaining that note without turning it up all the way to 11 is no mean feat; on the one hand her maternal instinct has to take over her every action and word, while on the other her growing concern must never give way to hysterics that will alienate the audience. Watts manages this delicate balance rather well, and her character is never anything other than relatable and accessible. And then comes the contrived third act, where the wheels come off in a way reminiscent to Halle Berry’s 2013 vehicle The Call. Of that movie Roger Moore of The Seattle Times wrote that “It's only when our Oscar-winning heroine puts down the phone and sets out to do some sleuthing of her own that The Call disconnects, turning into something far more generic and far less exciting”; here, Watts doesn’t put the phone down, but it’s who she calls that gives this otherwise fine film a spin that belongs more in a mindless thriller than in a thoughtful exploration of this subject.
Dean2022-11-04
★ 2/10
I was hoping that it would be another great movie playing Naomi Watts as I love most movies she's in, but sadly this one isn't one of them. This movie was super boring. It's basically Naomi Watts walking and talking on phone whole time. I couldn't endure it and just stopped watching it after 30 minutes or so and then fast forwarded and and all movie she's walking and talking on phone.