Classic Horrors Club

2:22 (2017) is in a category of film I used to love and for which I seem to still have a soft spot. It’s all about destiny or fate and cosmic circumstances that bring two people together in ways they don’t understand until the emotional climax. This is the type of movie that won’t crack a hardened heart, but if you allow even a tiny piece to enter, it will invade and conquer it.

Dylan Branson (Michiel Huisman) is an air traffic controller who thrives on finding order among chaos. However, when distracted by the time, 2:22, he causes a near miss between a plane taking off and a plane landing. He’s suspended for four weeks and reluctantly attends an aerial ballet for which he was given tickets on his birthday. There, he notices and meets Sarah Barton (Teresa Palmer), a passenger on the plane that was landing and whose life he inadvertently saved.

Dylan then notices a pattern by which each day repeats, culminating in being inside Grand Central Station at 2:22, where a woman is shot. He becomes obsessed with the details of a shooting at Grand Central Station 30 years ago on his birthday, which is also Sarah’s birthday. Then he finds a bag in the ceiling of his apartment containing letters and a passport for Jake Redmon (Duncan Ragg.) Driven to near insanity, Dylan is standing on the edge of the roof looking like he’s going to jump when he looks to the sky and figures it out.

Taking his notes, he races to anticipate each event leading to Grand Central Station at 2:22. Meanwhile, Sarah has distanced herself from Dylan (since he’s driven to near insanity), and is spending time with her ex-boyfriend, Jonas Edman (Sam Reid.) He suggests some time away would be good for her. However, their flight is cancelled, so they’re going to take a train and head for, you guessed it, Grand Central Station. I’m afraid I’ve given away too much, but I don’t think enough to spoil the details.

The writers have an affinity for the subject matter. Todd Stein is also credited for “story by” and later wrote what sounds like the similarly themed Infinite (2021.) Nathan Parker wrote the trippy Moon (2009.) Australian Paul Currie directed it with panache and hired two perfect composers, Lisa Gerrard and James Orr, for the score. I don’t know who’s responsible for the songs used for the beginning and ending, but they complement the film and each caused me to tap the Shazam app on my phone.

2:22 is not as heavy handed as it could be. The mystery and action outweigh the drama, making it a solid thriller with what, for me, was an emotional ending. I didn’t remember until I started watching it that I had seen it before, but I immediately recognized it, and I’ll give it about the highest praise I can give a movie: I’d watch it again.