Every 21 Seconds

When my wife told me in the hospital that I had a Traumatic Brain Injury, I didn't know a thing about it. When I saw this movie, it was a reminder of my own recovery. Shannon Brown's portrayal is superb. The story is a true inspiration that improvement can happen after TBI. The supporting cast helped make this a truly excellent film!

Every 21 Seconds is not as such meant to entertain. It's meant to be a palatable yet realistic look at the aftermath of senseless traumatic brain injuries. It should be said that there are many who never get to attempt to re-gain any new normalcy as this is serious stuff. Brian Sweeney was in the wrong place at the wrong time and he has paid a great price losing so much. His wife, kids, parents, siblings and friends were all affected with those closest suffering along in great measure. The beautiful part is Brian made a fantastic recovery becoming a new version of himself with enough left to build upon. I'd say for whatever meager budget this movie has it gets these core things right to personally engage the viewer. It is a well done piece that celebrates strength in the bonds we share with those we love and the respect we should afford all of our fellowmen. It does so without being preachy or concerned with minutia . It is a very human drama that speaks for love being the ultimate healer. When I was a kid I was moved by the movie Brian's Song and I must say I felt much the same watching Every 21 Seconds. Just park your need for big-budget flicks and production for a well made modest movie with a nicely nested important message.

I ordered this on DVD and was a bit nervous to watch it. My father suffered from a tbi. I'd seen a couple movies about tbi in the past and I was left feeling more annoyed than anything else. They seemed to gloss over this affliction, even sugar coating it at times. This film certainly did not do that. You could tell that they were very familiar with the terrible effect that tbis can have, not only on the victims, but their loved ones as well. The main character, played by Shannon Brown, seemed eerily familiar to me. His portrayal of a tbi survivor was uncomfortably real. There were many times that I saw my father on the screen. This was one of the best performances I've ever seen in any movie period. The actress who plays his wife, Kelly Thuebaud, says the line "he goes from zero to nuclear with no warning" and that's a honest way to describe someone suffering from a tbi and you see and feel that in Mr. Brown's performance. Ms. Thiebaud was also very good in this. I felt her pain and despair which is exactly what me and mother experienced with my father. I am grateful that this movie exists. It's hard to put into words how devastating a tbi can be on someone and their loved ones, this film illustrates just that in a powerfully authentic way.

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.

Held my interest..acting could be better but it was believeable.. I was happy to find the movie.. worth the watch