For all its flaws, it's still pretty effective, thanks to Scott Speedman and James Marsden.
24th Day (2004)
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Reviews Counted:14
Fresh:3
Rotten:11
Average Rating:3.7/10
Theatrical Release:May 14, 2004 Limited
Synopsis: It’s the 24th day after Tom (Scott Speedman) has found out that he is HIV-positive. A married man who has lived his life as “straight,” he has had sex with a man only once in his life. Consumed... It’s the 24th day after Tom (Scott Speedman) has found out that he is HIV-positive. A married man who has lived his life as “straight,” he has had sex with a man only once in his life. Consumed with sorrow and rage about his situation, Tom sets in motion an outrageous plan. Finding Dan (James Marsden), the man he slept with five years earlier, Tom lures him to his apartment, ties him up and forcibly takes a blood sample. If Dan’s test comes back negative, he will let him go; but if it is negative, he will kill him. The stage is set for an intense battle between the two men, with Dan using every method at his disposal to try to escape. Both of them are in top physical condition, while Dan seems to have the intellectual edge. Will that be enough for Dan to trick his way out of his bonds? Still, as the two men face-off and gradually reveal themselves, the question becomes: who is the true victim or victimizer? Tom’s violent kidnapping and murderous threats clearly pass the bounds of legal and rational behavior. And yet, if Tom’s conviction about Dan is true, then Dan is accountable for more than a minor moral lapse. But is Dan in fact responsible for giving Tom HIV? He adamantly proclaims he isn’t. Writer/Director Tony Piccirillo keeps introducing enough twists and turns in the story to keep it surprising and involving, while setting off a host of explosive questions…. What moral responsibilities do we have to one another in the age of AIDS? Are we only answerable for ourselves? Is there such a thing as absolute “Truth”? -- © Nazz Productions and Big Teddy Films [More]
Starring: James Marsden, Scott Speedman, Sofia Vergara
Starring: James Marsden, Scott Speedman, Sofia Vergara
Director: Tony Piccirillo
Director: Tony Piccirillo
Studio: Screen Media
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Reviews for 24th Day
There's something deeply troubling, not to mention cruel, about Piccirillo's willingness to use AIDS as the ultimate consequence in a scenario about truth and sexual behavior, and about a scenario in which a gay man is once again targeted as patient zero.
Tony Piccirillo's independent video feature suggests a second-rate Off-Off Broadway play as it might have been captured on a camcorder by a doting parent.
The movie is never more than a hesitantly filmed recording of the play.
Boasts one of the most ludicrous plots ever committed to digital video.
No amount of fidgety editing and anxious soundtrack atonality can distract from the creakingly implausible scenario.
The ceaseless twists and turns Piccirillo keeps introducing are at first intriguing, but eventually become tiresome, as if he's trying to hold our interest any way he can.
Scott Speedman and James Marsden, two talented and attractive actors who know how to hold attention, perform with depth and range.
What might have proved reasonably compelling onstage comes across as forced on film, with credibility taking a back seat to contrivance.
An ethically repugnant, relentlessly monotonous chamber drama that manages the difficult trick of boring and irritating its viewers simultaneously.
Can perhaps be commended for attempting to raise serious moral issues, but not for the ham-fisted way it does so.
Despite strong performances, this drawn-out Day feels like a cross between the claustrophobic play it once was, and the R-rated After-School Special it wants to be.
The battle of wits and the search for the truth goes along right up until the film’s unpredictable ending.
At times The 24th Day plays like a two-man actor's workshop. As navigated by talented actors and director, it nonetheless proves a riveting ride.
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
| 25% 25% | Four Christmases |
| 68% 68% | Funny People |
| 95% 95% | Star Trek |
| 14% 14% | The Ugly Truth |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 32% 32% | Terminator Salvation |
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| 86% 86% | A Christmas Tale |
| 60% 60% | Paper Heart |
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