November (2004)

Though this movie is now 12½ years old, it's nice to see Courteney Cox again. Haven't seen Friends in years, rarely watch the Scream movies and aside from a dream I had about her as Monica with Chandler in a bath tub a couple of nights ago (don't ask,) I don't get to see her in something new-to-me often.Additionally, it's nice to check out an indie thriller occasionally. It has to be well made, despite a low budget, unknown to me and recommended from a friend, which this was.There were many films I thought about when watching this. Probably just influences to the creators. And that's not a bad thing, except when all I'm trying to do is solve the movie with recalling how the other films played out.In November…boy, do I wish it were, this hot summer in Arizona has really overstayed its welcome…Cox's Sophie made her boyfriend get her a desert at a corner L.A. market when BAM! he's shot down by a coward robber. The remaining short runtime involves Sophie putting the pieces of her life back together. Of course, this is an indie film, as mentioned, so completing the jigsaw isn't going to be straight-forward.Unlike most of TV's Friends' cast, Cox is one of the few actors who can step out and play different characters than the ones they played for over a decade on T.V. Aside from her hair – which they will bring up, sadly, a few times, you may not even recognize her and that's a good thing. The remaining cast aren't unknowns, but they seem to be taking second fiddle to her performance. Don't get me wrong; it wasn't award-worthy, but it was 100% believable and you did get transported into her world.There's nothing truly wrong with this movie. It's a good suspense to try and solve with the story lines. You may see the ending coming, but it still works, nonetheless. See it.***Final thoughts: Another good, never-heard-of movie recommendation by author, Dustin Putman from his book: The Fright File: 150 Films to See Before Halloween. Totally recommend you purchasing a copy of this before October (or November? Sorry, movie tie-in there to make this relevant. Haha) at http://www.thefrightfile.com/book/

After the death of her husband (James Le Gros) during a robbery, a traumatized photographer (Courteney Cox) investigates what's behind mysterious clues and events that may help her to find the person who killer her partner and what happened on the day he was killed.The viewer's involvement with this story? It goes well for a while then it gets repetitive, doesn't move much, lacks in suspense and lacks in originality. Although the few characters aren't so interesting, the plot seemed to be, intriguing and complex until the script makes some wrong and strange turns, alternating facts and confusing the audience by playing and replaying scenes but changing some characteristics. Only when the ending comes you understand this on/off effect; but by that time it dragged a lot, presented many facts and couldn't keep up with any, most of the time thrown at us with no purpose. "November" uses of chapters related with death stages (anger, denial, acceptance, etc.) each time a change is introduced. I can't deny I saw it and it made me very angry when I realized the copy this movie was, borrowing elements from "Memento" and "The Sixth Sense". Painfully boring, and that's a fact you'll have to accept. 4/10

*November Is The Cruelest SPOILER* November 7; Sophie (Courteney Cox Arquette), a photographer, and her attorney boyfriend Hugh (James LeGros) stop in front of a convenience store while coming home from a dinner together.Hugh goes in to buy some chocolate for Sophie, but while he is in the store a robber arrives and shoots all three people in the store, killing them.We flashforward to a few weeks later, and she is going to a psychiatrist to deal with the loss. But she keeps on having mysterious flashbacks and allucinations, including one where she sees herself on the floor of the convenience store, shot.Then we see another version of the story; Hugh is still alive, but they broke up because she cheated on him.What did really happen in that convenience store? Shot in HD in just 15 days, this movie deals with a tricky subject - SPOILER SPOILER HUGE SPOILER a look into the thoughts of a dying person - SPOILER SPOILER HUGE SPOILER and did it nicely; I particularly liked the repetitions and the lighting, which were two huge clues (along with the picture of Hugh's hand) about what happened.SPOILER I also think that Hugh died in the first version because she 'gave' her wound to him (she said he was shot twice to the psychiatrist, but he was only shot once, as we see at the end, and the second shot was her own - the stomach pains are a clue to it), and his 'leaving her' in the second part means his staying alive, his not following her in the other world (it's highly unlikely he'd die of just a shoulder wound) SPOILER In short, I quite liked 'November'. Even if it has quite the end credits...November: 8/10.

I saw November and it's a good movie, not great, but good. SPOILERS COMING IMMEDIATELY! Right in the beginning of the movie, during the opening credits, I saw Courtney's character dead on the floor and so I was tipped off right away that this movie will not end well. I didn't realize at the time the movie would always be ending and never beginning. The entire movie, all three acts of the same scene, is Courtney's character coming to terms with her death and of course it would never take that long. She dies in a matter of a few moments and that's all the time her mind is allowed to work through her death. I noticed the dreamlike quality the director used to tell the story is being confused with or mistaken for what the character's thought processes might be. The use of clues, symbols, and metaphors is how we dream or tell stories, it's not how we think. We can only guess what we may think about during a shocking and dramatic death, but I don't think it will be done in dream like thinking. I think if I got shot in the stomach, I'd be thinking holy s#*t, I'm fooking dieing and then the blood will run out and I'll get weak and then I will accept the coming darkness or hopefully the bright light will start shining and I'll hear my late mother's voice or see some Saint. Many of us know about the steps to dieing (Ross), many of us have seen a family member with cancer go through the steps. Courtney's character has to go through the steps at warp speed. The rest is all "movie business" and telling a story. All the business of clues and metaphors is for us, the movie goer, not for the character. This is not the stuff that Courtney is thinking about how could it be? Courtney is not dreaming, she's dieing. That's why so many people don't like the movie. I liked the movie, not a lot, but enough to be pleased I saw it. Not because I think I just saw what someone thinks while dieing. I didn't see that. I saw a movie tell a story the way we dream and it's interesting to be reminded the way we dream is so universal.