...tick... tick... tick... (1970)'s comments

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Siskoid

Given Jim Brown's participation as a town's first black sheriff in the Deep South, I thought ...Tick... Tick... Tick... was going to be the blaxploitation version of In the Heat of the Night, but it's played pretty straight, and is the better for it. Brown shares the hero duties with George Kennedy as the bitter sheriff who just lost the election to him, and he's really good in the picture. What the two men have in common is their dedication to the word of the law. Regardless of their relative level of privilege, they're not about protecting one community over the other, and they both suffer for it, from both sides. The events of the film are well designed to test the limits of the town folk's racist obstructionism for its own sake, and rather than go into lurid action material, the consequences shown felt pretty reasoned and realistic (even if it means the time bomb evoked by the title is perhaps overstated). The characters had families and back stories and weren't just empty avatars for the plot. Full props too to director Ralph Nelson who manages to sneak in some good visuals and sound design, making this a very nice surprise on all levels.

5 years 1 month ago

TheMajor

Quite good, recommended.

12 years ago