Panic (2000)

Name: Panic
Genre: Crime, Drama
Released: 2000-12-01
Duration: 88 min
Rating: 6.2
Cast: William H. Macy, Neve Campbell, Tracey Ullman, John Ritter, Barbara Bain

Panic (2000), directed by Henry Bromell, starring William H. Macy and Neve Campbell.

12/01/2000 BR Crime and Drama 1h 28m

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A story of family, lust, murder... and other midlife crises.

Synopsis

Alex is going through a midlife crisis and it has become a very difficult time for him. His marriage is struggling, he's worried about his son, and his job of killing people for his family has become the most stressful part of his life. He seeks the help of a therapist and meets a woman in the waiting room that he connects with.

Jeffrey JurCinematography
Henry BromellDirector, Writer
Brent WhiteEditing
Cindy MolloEditing

Pânico: Coleção

The other films in the franchise, in release order. 8 films — TMDb has not added this title to the collection yet.

About the film

Panic is a 2000 American crime drama film written and directed by Henry Bromell and starring William H. Macy in the lead role, alongside Neve Campbell, Tracey Ullman, John Ritter, Miguel Sandoval, and Donald Sutherland. The film centers on Alex (Macy), a hitman who suffers a midlife crisis amidst the number of struggles he and his family face. Determined to quit contract killing, he seeks treatment from therapist Dr. John Parks (Ritter) and enters an affair with a younger woman, Sarah Cassidy (Campbell).

Panic premiered at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival, and was later given a limited release in theaters in December of that year. The film received universal acclaim from major film critics, who in particular praised the performances of the acting ensemble.

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Plot

Alex lives a double life: he is married with a day job, and is a professional hitman. Trained by his father Michael from youth, Alex is dissatisfied with his work and wishes to leave the business behind. He goes into psychotherapy with Dr. Josh Parks, disclosing that he is a hit man, and that he is attracted to a young woman he met in the waiting room. She is Sarah, 23, who is attracted to him as well, but does not want to get involved with a married man.

In flashbacks we see that Alex gets his start as a killer in the family business, at his father's prompting, from his killing of a squirrel as a young boy, to his first human victim as a teenager. Worried that Alex is informing on him, Michael gives Alex his next assignment: to kill Dr. Parks. Alex delays, while Dr. Parks, fearing for his own safety, contacts a police detective, Larson.

Alex keeps returning to Sarah, calling her, stopping by her apartment, as he decides what to do about the hit, his father, his marriage and his malaise. Eventually, he has an affair with Sarah. His wife soon discovers the affair and leaves him, not before he discovers that his father had been grooming his son, Sammy, as a future assassin. Determined not to let Michael ruin Sammy, too, he drives up to Michael's home and shoots him dead, only to be killed himself by Larson, who had been secretly following him.

Cast

Reception

Box office

Following a premiere at the January 2000 Sundance Film Festival, Panic was given a limited theatrical release (peak of 11 theatres) in the United States and Canada in December 2000, grossing $0.78 million at the box office, against a budget of $1.0 million.

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 91% of 56 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.6/10. The website's consensus reads: "This quirky little film about a gangster in therapy feels fresh and well-crafted." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 77 out of 100, based on 24 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. Roger Ebert gave the film four stars out of four. Leonard Maltin gave the film two and a half stars but praised the acting, calling it "excellent." Lisa Nesselson of Variety wrote "Pic’s title implies frenzy and wild activity, but the film’s charm evolves from its measured, unhurried rhythms, and originality from the tone: quirky yet convincing, irreverent yet moral."

References

External links

Panic at IMDb

Text from Panic (2000 film) on Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panic_(2000_film)

Trivia

It cost US$ 1.0 million and grossed US$ 779.137 in theaters — 0.8 times its budget.
It premiered on December 1, 2000, a Friday.
It runs 1h28 — a typical feature length.
This film's quiz has 14 questions — enough to play more than once without repeats.

Production

StudiosMad Chance, The Vault
CountriesUnited States
LanguagesEnglish
BudgetUS$ 1,000,000
Box officeUS$ 779,137
StatusReleased

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Cast

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Crew

Jeffrey Jur Cinematography
Henry Bromell Director
Brent White Editing
Cindy Mollo Editing
Lynzee Klingman Editing
Andrew Lazar Producer
Lori Miller Producer
Matt Cooper Producer
Brian Tyler Original music
Henry Bromell Writer

Questions about this film

What is Panic about?

Panic: Alex is going through a midlife crisis and it has become a very difficult time for him. His marriage is struggling, he's worried about his son, and his job of killing people for his family has become the most stressful part of his life. He seeks the help of a therapist and meets a woman in the waiting room that he con…

Who directed Panic?

Panic was directed by Henry Bromell in 2000.

Who stars in Panic?

The cast of Panic includes William H. Macy, Neve Campbell, Tracey Ullman, John Ritter and Barbara Bain.

How long is Panic?

Panic runs for 88 minutes, or 1h28.

How much did Panic cost and how much did it make?

Panic had a budget of US$ 1,000,000 and took US$ 779,137 at the box office.

What is the correct order of the Pânico: Coleção films?

The Pânico: Coleção franchise has 8 films in the catalogue. In release order: Pânico; Pânico 2; Pânico 3; Pânico 4; Pânico; Pânico VI; Pânico 7; Scream 8.