13 Minutes
Synopsis: The day starts out as usual for residents in the small Heartland town of Minninnewah. It’s springtime and big storms are just part of life. Nothing to get worked up about…until they are. Inhabitants will have just 13 Minutes to get to shelter before the largest tornado on record ravages the town, leaving the inhabitants searching for their loved ones and fighting for their lives. In the wake of total devastation, four families must overcome their differences and find strength in themselves and each other in order to survive.
This ensemble film is about a small town in the path of a brewing storm. Racism, homophobia, religion, and small-town politics swirl around the inhabitants as they prepare for anything. Stories collide, and relationships are put to the ultimate test.
So, here is the breakdown of characters for 13 minutes: Trace Adkins and Anne Heche play a couple named Rick and Tammy, whose far is in dire financial straights. Tammy is also a local OB at the woman’s clinic. Their religion keeps their son Luke (Will Peltz) between a rock and a hard place. Adkins and Heche never fail to blow me out of the water with each beat.
Thora Birch, oh how I have missed you. Birch plays mechanic and single Mom, Jess. Sofia Vassilieva plays her 19-year-old daughter Maddie. Maddie’s future is in flux, and the decision she makes is one her mother understands all too well. These two women have a genuine report with each other. I adored their scenes.
Amy Smart is an ambitious Mom, Kim. She’s the regional emergency manager for the county. Husband Brad, played by Peter Facinelli, is the local tv weatherman. Their elementary school-aged daughter Peyton happens to be deaf. Shaylee Mansfield, as Peyton, is a highlight of this film. Her innocence shines off the screen.
Paz Vega plays Ana. She and her fiance, Carlos (Yancey Arias), are attempting to buy their own home as Ana works at the local motel as the maid. Carlos works on Rick’s farm as a newly hired mechanic. Vega is a hero in 13 minutes, in more ways than one. This character is carefully curated. Vega lives in her.
Every single member of this cast is outstanding. They understood the assignment. This script is a snapshot of the country, plain and simple. It is just under an hour into the runtime when the tornado hits. These scenes have a visceral impact. They are pure terror. Writer-director Lindsay Gossling taps into the essence of human nature and the spirit of a small-town America. 13 minutes navigates different beliefs, prejudice, and fear, with flawed and fully fleshed-out characters. It’s not simply a disaster film, it is a reflection of the best and worst of humanity in crisis.
In THEATERS October 29th, on DIGITAL and ON-DEMAND, November 19th
Director: Lindsay Gossling
Writer: Lindsay Gossling
Cast: Trace Adkins, Thora Birch, Peter Facinelli, Anne Heche, Amy Smart, Sofia Vassilieva, Paz Vega, Will Peltz, Shaylee Mansfield
Producers: Travis Farncombe, Lindsay Gossling, Karen Harnisch
Cinematographer: Steve Mason ACS, ASC
Language: English
Running Time: 108 minutes
Rating: PG-13
Playing like a graphic novel, with characters’ names scrawled next to their introduction, the gunfire is chaotic and aplenty. I watched this a 2-hour film a second time to make sure I wasn’t missing anything. I think I still am. Even after my second viewing, American Night remains confusing in its non-linear storytelling. Listen, I wanted to love this film. The potential is there.
Jonathan Rhys Meyers does his best to make American Night engaging. His character, John, attempts to make amends in love and begin an honest career. He’s strong as ever, in true neo-noir fashion. Though try as he might, he cannot hold up an uneven narrative that relies on cliché over concept. Jeremy Piven steals the show. The seriousness in which his character desires to be a ninja becomes the much-needed levity in all these convoluted shenanigans. I would happily watch an entire film about him. Emile Hirsch is the son of a New York City Mafia boss Michael Rubino, whose love of art plays above all else. That, and perhaps, his ego and an incredibly random love for scorpions. The performance goes from levelheaded to absurd based on the script. Hirsch takes it all in strive with 100% commitment.
Here’s what doesn’t work for me; it takes 1 hour and 25 minutes for the stories to finally overlap after living them from different perspectives. The runtime would benefit from a 20-minute shave. Some of the delivery from ancillary characters reads as hokey. Okay, a lot of the dialogue does. The film includes one of the most ridiculous sex scenes ever. It seems like a laughable excuse to have Paz Vega appear naked onscreen.
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