November

© A.J. Malouin 2008

(Rating: 5 by Al)
(See our side-bar page “How Caryl & Al & The Film Snob Rate Movies”)

(2004/USA. Directed by Greg Harrison.) Have you ever had a near-death experience? Does your life flash before your eyes just before you die? Al has been through these experiences a couple of times, and can answer these questions for you if you’d like him to. Or…you can watch “November” and get an ambitious filmic answer about what can happen in those last few instances of anyone’s life. The story line here seemingly involves a shooting death of a man in a convenience-store robbery. In the aftermath of that shooting, his girlfriend— played by Courtney Cox— seemingly suffers a lot of guilt over an affair she was having. As the film rewinds and replays itself, however, the girlfriend goes through denial, despair and acceptance…and we find out that what we *thought* was the story line is not what is *actually* playing out at all. This stunning and disturbing film is well worth renting to discover how Reality can peel away like the layers of an onion during the time you’re watching the real story unfold. An added bonus? Ann Archer is in this film! (1 hour 13.)