“11:55” is directed by Ari Issler and Ben Snyder. We caught the film at the 2016 Los Angeles Film Festival.
Victor Almanzar stars and is sensational in a debut role. His approach to this role is simply astounding, also in consideration that he was involved in the screenplay. He pays such attention to detail and the nearly paradoxical nature of being in the military. It’s critical to carry this role with a great deal of sensitivity in order to in part not disrespect service men and women but also celebrate the power and prestige that is carried with the uniform. Shirley Rumierk, who found her fame in Max Payne 3, also contributes a sense of caution to her role. Mind you, this is a crime drama in the context of military. It was important to not typecast as it were, the role of the assistant of sorts. But in film, being honorably discharged is key to the plot, in which the main character must face his reality as a violent man in the real world, rather than a man in the military, perhaps functioning as just ‘another man’.
The film really attempts to address the stress of war, and it joins the ranks of films that consider the post-war reality, which is very real for a large population in America. Add in the circumstance of poverty and drug crime in small town America, it becomes oppressively clear that leaving war isn’t always better than being there. The film is serious and reads almost as a documentary of sorts, in an attempt to account for the factors of daily life in a less than desirable location.
11:55 by Ari Issler & Ben Snyder on Facebook
