November (2004)

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Sadly Over-hyped

Yo, there's no way for me to review this film without saying, take your *insert ethnicity + "ass" here* to see this film,like now. You have to see it in order to know what you're really messing with.

The acting in this movie is really good.

Engaging, Spritely Visual Digital, Low-Budget Movie that has a Number or Positive and Negative Things that Balance Out to a Watchable, Derivative Indie. TV Star Courtney Cox is Very Camera Friendly and Her Acting here is Above Average.The Director Missteps Somewhat in Packaging a Familiar Template of Modern and Not So Modern Style of Recurring Scenes Repeating Things at a Slightly Different Angle. Unless You have a Very Strong and Different Story to Tell and a Little More Experience Under Your Belt, it is Best to Stay Far Away from these Types of Glaring Gimmicks.That Said, the Director/Editor Shows Signs of Talent and has Made a Movie that Most Film Students and Novice Directors would be Proud. It has Style to Burn and Keeps the Interest Level Up with the Stunning if Always Cold Digital Camera. Convenience, Grocery, and Department Stores have been Somewhat Underused by Low-Budget Types. There is Color and a Surreal Obnoxiousness to that Template that is just Ripe for the Riffing.That Setting is Employed Quite Efficiently here and the Rest of the Shoot is Done with Enough Pizazz to make the Repetitive Story Sustainable and Worth a Watch for Indie Film Fans, Ultra Low-Budget Filmmakers and Students, and for those Looking for a Little Divergent Entertainment from Another $200,000,000 Waste.Note...Extra Credit for not falling into the shaky camera cliché so often used for this type of Production to feign Artistic vision.

Various aspects regarding the tragic shooting of her lover, Hugh(James LeGros), in a gas station by a thief robbing the joint on the night of November the 7th relives hauntingly in the mind of photographer Sophie Jacobs(Courteney Cox in a rare change-of-pace role). She can not seem to shake the occurrences before and during that fateful night and her life seems to repeatedly drift through various times with Hugh as things begin to seep into her life becoming often too overwhelming to bear. An affair with a student, providing extra grief coupled with the shooting, hangs over her like a thundercloud. We begin to see Sophie in situations around that gas station and certain pictures taken might bring forth a suspect. She gets a clear view of his face, but the attempt to explain it to anyone is difficult. She is also experiencing pain in her stomach and headaches not to mention seeing blood in disorienting ways. Also, we see several specific conversations with Hugh and the other man. But, as she searches for truth, results yielding startling conclusions involving herself at the scene of the crime will possibly provide the answers explaining why she is suffering mentally from that night.May cover the night too many times for some viewers, the ending I believe clears up why the filmmakers are making the flick so elusive. Very reminiscent to STAY, we see a bevy of unusual things happening to Sophie that can not be easily explained until the ending occurs placing every weird occurrence together piecing the puzzle and showing just why Sophie experiences these far-out things. Shot on digital, this little indie uses minimal techniques spinning quite an eerie little tale. It works on the viewer not allowing us to grasp the whole until everything falls into place. Such as STAY, I feel many will give up on it before the half-way mark because the director, writer & crew asks a lot of us, particularly trust, in what they are trying to accomplish with this mind-screw of a movie. I liked it and thought Cox provides enough subtle confusion and sadness(..not to mention, denial on her face)in the manner she carries herself. She doesn't show too much or overplay her hand which I thought was nice.

OK i'm really baffled by all the high ratings. "Raging Bull", that was a good movie, "Ran" that was a good movie, if you want to compare it to other low budget indies try "Primer", that was a good movie (also won sundance and was made for $8000), "November" is the funniest movie i've seen since David Lynch's adaptation of "Dune". Here's why: First, the entire movie was shot in horrible studio build ups of really uncreative and poorly crafted stages. If there was one thing that was worse than this it was the lighting. I think they borrowed it from the set of "Full House". Aesthetically the movie was horrible and looked like a cheap television pilot. The actual film minus the credits has a runtime of about 70 minutes and that includes about 7 or 8 minutes of repeat footage. The premise was unoriginal and has been done many times before (see some of the other reviews for examples). The dialog was worse than the premise and the acting followed closely behind. But you can't really blame Courtney Cox because clearly she had to have thought she was still on the set of "Friends". She wandered around most of the time looking really confused probably because she couldn't figure out why David Schwimmer looked so much like James LeGros. But if you really want to be entertained watch the movie and then read some of the good reviews people have written here...."Courteney Cox is nothing short of excellent here"..."especially when sharing a scene with Cox, who acts circles around his one dimensional performance"...."The movie was flawless, intelligent, artsy etc.. I give it a 10!! I think it was a masterpiece!"....omg my side hurts.

I saw this film on a whim. I had not great expectations for either the film or Courtney Cox, who I remembered as an airhead on Friends. However, I was pleasantly surprised. I was taken in within the first few minutes and spent my time trying to figure out what actually happened. I had several theories, but it was not until the end that the secret is revealed. My jaw dropped to the floor and I knew that I had seen a beautiful work of art. I had to watch it again to see if I could pick out the clues. There were very few. But it made perfect sense. Cox was wonderful! Her performance in this movie made a fan out of me. I cannot wait for her next dramatic role. The story, the directing, the cinematography as well as the acting are superb. I cannot recommend this movie any more than 'see it' Make up your own mind, but give it a chance. You will be amazed.