FILM-FORWARD.COMReviews of Recent Independent, Foreign, & Documentary Films in Theaters and DVD/Home Video
NOVEMBER
Indie-vet James Le Gros stars alongside former Friend Courteney Cox
Arquette in director Greg Harrison's attempt at the ubiquitous psychological
thriller. On the night of November 7, Sophie (Arquette), a photography instructor, and her
boyfriend Hugh
(Le Gros) stop at a local convenience store; she’s still hungry after
having Chinese for dinner. Hugh reluctantly goes in while Sophie waits in the
car listening to the radio. An armed robber soon enters the store, shoots
the workers and demands that Hugh turn over his wallet, which he has left at
home. After hearing gun shots, Sophie runs in right after Hugh is shot at
point-blank range.
The film fast-forwards to what appears to be the present day. Sophie walks
through the lobby of a building towards an elevator bank. The elevators
aren't working, so she's forced to take the stairs, which lead to the
office of a psychiatrist (Nora Dunn). This particular sequence
is played out in three different scenarios entitled "Denial," "Despair" and
"Acceptance." The audience is lead to believe these are the three stages
Sophie must transcend in order to overcome her grief, but we're thrown for a
loop when a photo of her car parked outside of the convenience
store shows up in the slide projector as she teaches class.
More mysterious events occur as Sophie tries to sort out what exactly
happened that night, and come to grips with Hugh's murder and her
guilt over an affair with a coworker. November's non-linear plot
unfolds via somber flashbacks, all swathed in washed-out tones of blue and
sepia. So, yes, it's very artsy, and it's not immediately clear whether
Sophie is playing out various scenes of the same incident, or if the entire
incident is a dream inside her head. (She also suffers from excruciating
headaches, so it could all be her subconscious.)
The film does make sense, however, once all the fragments are joined
together, but that still doesn't make you feel like you actually get
anything out of it. This may be most attributable to the low-key dialogue
and acting. November could possibly have been the next
Memento, wherein the audience is compelled to follow the lead
character's steps toward discovery. But where Guy Pearce exuded raw
intensity and his supporting cast, namely Joe Pantoliano, added to the
intrigue, November's ensemble really has nothing to say - or do - other
than walk around sullenly in shades of gray. Tanya Chesterfield
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