2:37

Inspired by Gus Van Sant’s Elephant to an almost absurd degree, 2:37 consequently comes off as a pale shadow of its progenitor. The movie, which follows several high school students over the course of one particularly eventful day and culminates in a grisly death, marks the directorial debut of Murali K. Thalluri, an exceedingly young filmmaker who admittedly has a good eye for compelling visuals. Along with cinematographer Nick Matthews, Thalluri has infused 2:37 with a rich, deeply textured sense of style that initially alleviates some of his screenplay’s more derivative elements (of which there are many). But there reaches a point at which the film’s aimlessness becomes overwhelming; with no characters worth caring about and the inclusion of a distinctly inconsequential and random vibe, there’s ultimately little within 2:37 to hold the viewer’s interest.

** out of ****