13 MINUTES is an intense and personal character study, not only of individuals but of them collectively and as a community, as a town; a slice of life in Anytown, USA. Powerful. Heartbreaking. Hopeful.
Written and directed by Lindsay Gossling, with story by renowned stormchaser Travis Farncombe, 13 MINUTES is the story of one afternoon in the small Heartland town of Minninnewah; an afternoon that within the span of 13 minutes will change forever. Grounding the story and the visuals in the realities of a “severe weather day”, it’s springtime in this region known colloquially as “Tornado Alley” where big storms are commonplace. Of course, big storms can turn into much more than thunder, lightning, torrential rains, and whipping winds. They can turn into earth-scorching tornadoes. And when those big storms hit and early warning systems sound, residents have only 13 MINUTES to get to shelter. Average spring day, that’s exactly what happens in Minninnewah when alarms sound and everyone has just 13 MINUTES to get to shelter before the largest F5 tornado on record ravages the town. Lasting mere minutes, as survivors walk or crawl out into the light of day, they are met with total devastation as they search for their loved ones and fight for their lives. As is so often the case, only the strongest will survive. But in a town like Minninnewah with diversity, differences, and interpersonal conflicts raging, can these people, these families, rise above those differences and find a common strength in order to survive.
Riveting, 13 MINUTES draws us into the average life of each of these individuals as they deal with personal demons and prejudices from others, as they dress for work, go to work, eat breakfast, drop kids off at school, etc. With just the everyday routine of each person/couple/family, you quickly became invested in their individual and collective lives. You feel like you know these people, be they neighbors, friends, or someone whose face you merely recognize as being “a local.” The diversity of the characters is outstanding. Women, men, children, a deaf child, a non-English speaking immigrant trying to learn English, working parents whose very jobs are essential to the public when it comes to disasters which force choices of “my family” or yours”, the generational farmer whose existence is steeped in faith complete with prejudices, young gay men afraid to speak out, a pregnant unmarried young girl with a real douche for a “boyfriend”, and all economic strata. You find this slice of life in virtually every town in the US.
Hooking us with the interpersonal dramas and the three-dimensionality of the townspeople we meet, where Lindsay Gossling soars is with the tornado. Race, religion, gender, sex, ethnicity, language barriers, economics – none of that matters as everyone shares the experience of loss and disaster and fear and the unknown. Watching this shared experience unfold and the reactions of all is powerful and heartbreaking.
And let’s not overlook the fact that the focus of the film is on the women and seen primarily through the POV of the women, notably Paz Vega’s character of Ana, Thora Birch’s Jess, Amy Smart’s Kim, Anne Heche’s Tammy, Sofia Vassilieva’s Maddy, and Shaylee Mansfield’s Peyton. Not only all women, but women in different stages of life be it age from elementary school to women in their 50’s and everything in-between, demographics, or economics.
Casting is king in this film and it starts with Paz Vega. She is the glue of this film. Strong, unwavering, upbeat, ever hopeful and optimistic, believing in the American dream. Her character of Ana has her eye on a house at the end of town and her joy at meeting with the realtor with the purchase paperwork is palpable. Vega commands the screen with a welcoming calm as the motel in which she works as a housekeeper is getting ready to fall down around them. Ana thinks fast and on her feet to get everyone to safety in the freezer. And although her husband Carlos is somewhere else, she may wonder about him and worry as he speaks little to no English, but it doesn’t stop her from putting one foot in front of the other and helping those in need. When we finally see Ana sit down on the folding chair outside the church, able to take a breath, we are taking that breath with her. It is impossible not to be invested in Ana thanks to Vega’s believable and resonant performance.
Standing alongside Vega is Thora Birch. And I admit, I almost had a heart attack when I realized that Thora Birch is now old enough to play a character with a 19 or 20-year-old daughter. A heartfelt and complex performance by Birch. Anne Heche as religious holy roller Tammy married to a generational farmer works very well. Heche is solid and what is particularly interesting is the character’s refusal to acknowledge her son Luke who has just come out as gay. Heche embraces the role with proud defiance.
Yancey Arias is a joy as Carlos. Quiet and unassuming. Eager. Amy Smart, as a savvy smart EMS specialist, finds a resonant and believable balance with Tammy while Peter Facinelli as Tammy’s husband Brad is an interesting – yet appropriate – casting for weathercaster Brad. Brad is more worried about his hair and his suit than the safety of his deaf daughter. And who doesn’t love seeing Trace Adkins pop up. As Tammy’s husband, farmer Rick, believability is an understatement. A real treat is Tokala Black Elk who handily tackles the role of Tammy’s colleague at EMS. So underrated as an actor, this is just another example of why there’s a lot more to him than what we see in projects like “Yellowstone” and “Wind River”.
But your heart will be stolen by Shaylee Mansfield as Tammy and Brad’s deaf daughter, Peyton. Deaf in real life, Mansfield soars with a tacit knowing and innocence that will rip you to shreds as we watch the tornado hit and Peyton is not only caught in it, but trapped, and subsequently missing – and her hearing aids are gone. Can her own instincts save her?
Calling on Farncombe’s expertise, 13 MINUTES focuses on a specific type of F5 tornado and the weather patterns inherent to it, translating that not only visually, but emotionally so that the darkening skies and changing air patterns mirror not only the dramatic build of the tornado but the dramatic arc of each character’s story.
Long a fan of cinematographer Steve Mason’s work, his use of light and lens in 13 MINUTES is outstanding. Melding the weather patterns of the pre-tornado and post-tornado skies with a delicate balance of in-camera work and VFX is visually stunning and perfectly matches the emotional beats of the intensifying day of building conflicts among the townspeople as well as being authentic to actual sky patterns for a storm of this specific nature.
Lighting palette changes throughout the film as the skies and the light changes during the course of the day. Similarly, the camera movement, with some keen gimbal work, comes into play as we go from Steadi-cam and sticks to handheld during and after the Tornado and back to sticks. Mason keeps interiors in a mid to close two-shot allowing us to feel the aloneness and loss post-tornado even more as everything and everyone is spread out.
And then there is the aftermath of the tornado and the destruction itself. An entire town decimated down to the ground. So desirous of authenticity that Gossling and her team, under the leadership of production designer Ian Phillips and set dresser Jennifer Giron, created the destruction with a breakdown of approximately 80% practical in-camera physical with a 20% VFX blend, bringing in over 80 truckloads of construction debris from a nearby neighborhood construction. The trick then became placing all of the debris in such a fashion so as to mirror that of a tornado versus a hurricane or earthquake. The result speaks for itself.
Ariel Marx’ score is beyond noteworthy. Serving as a beautiful, soft undercurrent, it builds almost in tandem with the winds of the tornado until disaster strikes when she switches the musical current with a clean, simple, beauty that is haunting and hopeful. And the sound mix of score, tornado winds, whipping rain, physical destruction, and dialogue is not only impeccable but chillingly authentic.
As authentic and powerful as the visuals of 13 MINUTES are, it’s not as much the “disaster” aspect of the film that stands out as the heart that Gossling captures and brings to life. This is every town USA. And thanks to global warming and shifting weather patterns, this could happen anywhere. But it’s looking at the people individually and as a town that shines brightest.
Gossling has done an exemplary job of bringing us into this world of the power of Mother Nature, the power of kindness, and the power of humanity when it comes together.
Directed by: Lindsay Gossling
Written by Lindsay Gossling and Travis Farncombe
Cast: Amy Smart, Thora Birch, Peter Facinelli, Trace Adkins, Paz Vega, Anne Heche, Sofia Vassilieva, Laura Spencer, Yancey Arias, Shaylee Mansfield, Trace Adkins, Will Peltz, Tokala Black Elk
By debbie elias, September 21, 2021
