I enjoy watching indies because there is an organic and purity to telling a story with a limited budget. We seem saturated with 100 million dollar superhero movies which can be entertaining in its own right, but its basically become just using a blank checkbook to get the latest technology in special fx. It's getting to the point where the entire film can be shot in front of a green screen, no thanks.
Every 21 Seconds is a perfect example of telling a great story with none of the smoke and mirrors. It centers around a brain injury survivor who defies all odds to not only survive, but thrive after his near death experience. I was initially drawn to this movie because I thought it was based on the true story of a man suffering from PTSD, but that is not at all what this was. Have you heard of a tbi? Yeah, me neither until I saw this film. tbi stands for traumatic brain injury and apparently its something that many people suffer from in our society. If you suffer one and you are lucky enough to survive you are often times stuck in a hell where you might look the same as you did before but you are not the same person at all. This film motivated me to research it some more and I was shocked to find out how common these types of injuries are from boxers, football players and armed forces veterans to regular day people like the guy this particular story is based on. It often times leads to depression, wild mood swings, memory loss and a buffet of other terrible side effects.
On to this film in particular. I was hooked immediately. The pace of the film keeps you invested, the performances keep you engaged and the fact that its based on a true story makes it all the more powerful. Shannon Brown is amazing as the main character. You cant help but laugh with him, cry with him and definitely pull for him as this intense story unfolds. A remarkable performance! His co star Kelly Thiebaud is also very powerful. She plays the main character's wife and she is anything but weak or a victim. Her portrayal of the devoted wife who will stop at nothing to help her husband is inspiring. Brown and Thiebaud are simply magnetic in this. A prime example of why I love indie filmmaking. These two stars took a great story and brought to life in a raw, unfiltered manner without the help of exotic locations or over the top special fx.
The film itself has a great pace to it. The cinematography is beautiful, the director navigated the ship perfectly, the score is brilliant. Again, no frills, just genuine story telling. I noticed one review where these filmmakers were actually mocked for having to work with a modest budget. I guess to someone shallow and un-artistic, it's a bad thing to be able to tell a great story without a big Hollywood budget. That same type of shallow critic is the reason there are 137 Avenger movies out there. I will applaud great storytelling and powerful performances achieved without the benefit of 100s of millions of dollars to dress it up and that is precisely what Every 21 Seconds is.
