MovieChat Forums > 11:14 (2004) Discussion > is it possible...

is it possible...

posted 15 years ago by jelly_ring
11 replies | jump to latest

...that this movie is nothing more than an exercise in unique (though not so much anymore) filmmaking? i watched the whole movie hoping that there would be some "aha" moment at the end, but i didn't get either 1) some kind of explanation for the choice of 11:14 or 2) at least a donnie darko or twilight zone deus ex machina moment to help at least excuse the last 82 minutes of lameness.

anyway, i had some high hopes for this one, but while it was carefully crafted, it was not creatively crafted at all...oh well.

[–] ivyarrived 15 years ago

In spite of that car she was in (cheri) this really has a lot of realism to it that you don't get in many films..and I think that suttle approach is what makes it actually work.

[–] MikeyBabyBooBop 15 years ago

1) it is spelled "subtle."

2) if by "realism" you mean "unoriginal" or "mediocre" or "an anti-climactic, self-indulgent crash rip-off" then i agree completely.

filmmakers ought to know by know that multiple storylines only add to scope or vision when there is a reason which speaks to the entirety of the film. (e.g. crash, the hours, a couple wes anderson films, or what have you). otherwise it is a silly, useless mess (e.g. 11:14).

- dying ain't much of a living -

[–] DarkoLives 15 years ago

Thank you so much Mikey. I've been trying to put that into words since I watched this movie with my mom last night. When the credits started rolling, she looked at me as if she expected me to be impressed. I kept arguing that the ending was stupid. I couldn't find the right word, but "anti-climactic" definitely fits here. It seemed like all the story lines were going to tie up at the end, like "this happened BECAUSE this happened BECAUSE this happened" but all I got was what I'd been seeing throughout the movie's entirety, just "this happened WHILE this happened WHILE this happened". Just a really unsatisfying ending.

I hope all of that made sense.

Sorry if it didn't.

[–] infinajt 15 years ago

"an anti-climactic, self-indulgent crash rip-off"

HAHA. You suck, sir.

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] MikeyBabyBooBop 15 years ago

regardless. 11:14 is still anti-climactic and whatever 11:14 was going for, crash did it better. i guess that's my point.

- dying ain't much of a living -

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] MikeyBabyBooBop 15 years ago

i'm not an "explosing and an ending that will blow you away" type of guy.

what i'm getting at, i guess, is the tapestry framework that both "crash" and "11:14" (along with several other movies) chose to utilize is a difficult one to pull off. with that, i feel like "11:14" tried to make the tapestry fuller by adding more than the nessescary parts and without much reward came along with it. "crash" on the other hand, in my opinion, didn't spread itself as thin AND managed to resonate with me. all the while, "crash" did wow me, i guess, but that isn't what dissapoints me about "11:14" - it's more that with all the intertwining of the characters and events, i expected something better. something to resonate. not a weak ending. because the ending, to me, is the knot that should tie all the ends together in a very solid way. and in "11:14," i don't think it happened. the knot was just as weak as the loose ends.

maybe i just didn't like it and i should shut up.

but i think i make sense. oh well.

- dying ain't much of a living -

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] MikeyBabyBooBop 15 years ago

yeah. i couldn't figure out how to say what i wanted to say.

i'll check out "amores perros." thanks for the recommendation.

- dying ain't much of a living -

[–] 15 years ago

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