Rating of
3/4
A Great Little Movie
filmfan09 - wrote on 01/21/09
The film '11:14' centers around a series of seemingly unrelated events that all converge at 11:14 pm. The participants in the action are a father trying to keep his daughter from dating a disreputable fellow, some teenagers out for some not-so-wholesome fun, and a man cheating on his spouse. Along the way, there is robbery, murder, mayhem, lots and lots of blood, and one severed penis.
The story is told from the view point of each character which reveals something new every single time. It reminded me of "Pulp Fiction" or "Vantage Point" in someways because of the time of the events and the view points of the different characters. The cast is filled with actors who prove their mettle with solid performances. Hilary Swank gives her usual fine performance as a golden-hearted girl without too much brain power. Shawn Hatosy and Rachel Leigh Cook are two popular young stars who add to the quality of the acting in this film. The seasoned stars who appear are Henry Thomas, Barbara Hershey, and Patrick Swayze.
This is not a movie for casual viewing. The writer/director expects us to be intelligent enough that it's not necessary to use exposition to put events together. We see what happens, we draw our own conclusions. And it gets better as it goes along. The more complicated events become, the more layers of the characters we see revealed.
Don't expect something like "Crash" or a serious drama because it isn't. The movie is actually a dark comedy. I found the movie surprisingly enjoyable, with a lot of good laughs. The movie runs a quick 82 minutes so everything is fast paced in here.
The ending is very satisfying, with a nicely ironic use of the song "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" as one character achieves a richly deserved fate.
