The 11th Hour Review – Riveting, A Terrifying, Stunning Nail Biter

The 11th Hour, from Brainstorm Media, brings to the screen a suspenseful allegory of an against all odds unshakable faith in a promise, and the dark, frightening, deadly ramifications of following our own ideas to fulfillment.

Directed by Andres Morgenthaler, The 11th Hour stars Kim Basinger, in what is being called a comeback performance, and Jordan Prentice. The 11th Hour also stars Peter Stormare and Sebastian Schipper.

The 11th Hour begins with Maria, embodied by Kim Basinger and Peter, played by Sebastian Schipper, lying in bed as life finally begins to grow inside her once barren womb.

A storm is gathering strength, soon the pellets of rain are beating against the roof and slowly Maria falls off to sleep. In the night, a voice, which lends to the initial belief of a psychological thriller, takes the form of a wisp, as one would see in the clouds. Our wisp, a still small voice of a child, whispers in the night, from the deepest of places.

Sensing trouble Peter wakes calling for Maria. She silent and cold, he jerks back the covers to find the blood soaked bed of another miscarriage.

Rushing her, nearly dead, to the hospital as death seemed to desire her she remained flat lined for two minutes. During this moment she has an out of body experience and in her mind’s eye she is transported to a place she has never seen, one she didn’t understand. The storm, still gathering strength, rages.

Recovering from this latest miscarriage killed the spirit in her husband, who came to the conclusion, that they will be childless. Each time a damaging blow, a bitter ending, a finality by an expert is delivered, the still small voice whispers, reassures, plants continued hope.

Peter refuses to adopt and Maria refuses to let go of the promise. Together in their unwavering beliefs they come to an end; one must change or they must change.

As one who knows the future, she holds fast to the belief that she will have a child. The supernatural belief even as her womb is damaged and will not sustain a pregnancy.

She begins to work toward fulfilling the promise, she is smart, an American executive working in Europe, the top of her game, she commands departments.

On this day she is told of a town where young girls are sold into slavery near the Serbian border. The girls, barely teenagers are forced into prostitution, some become pregnant and sell their unwanted babies.

Armed with information she is sure this is where she will find her baby and comes prepared to buy the child initiate the adoption process.

Witnessing an odd fight between two costumed Panda bears, she is surprised to see one walking along the road. Stopping him, she asks if he needs a ride.

Heading for Paris, Christian, from Canada, played by Jordan Prentice, doesn’t turn down the offer even when he finds she is headed toward central Europe.

She begins to explain, in her barely above psycho logic which is how it can be interpreted when one who stands only on faith is viewed by those who have no desire to stand with on what can be considered very shaky ground, the reason for her trip.

Baby psycho is a bit beyond our dwarf, Christian’s range of loony tunes, even for a ride and he demands she let him out which she does. She eventually follows him until he relents and returns to assist baby psycho in her quest to fulfill God’s will.

The road less traveled, even in faith-land, can be littered with the remnants of the old life. In our pathway, as we have left faith road and moved into self-fulfillment lane, we find junkies, prostitutes, and other damaged souls along the way.

The road becomes darker, and Christian, a junkie, needs a fix. He is useless he believes unless he is stoned. The crack cocaine he smokes is his god. Soon, the two odd partners in this endeavor, baby nut and junkie, stumble onto the road filled with prostitutes.

The darkness of the night, is the beginning of a long night season as neither one of these two know what the next move will be and while they have good intentions, others, less scrupulous, don’t care.

The waves of tragedy and continual upheaval provide Basinger with the opportunity to go to the deep places and she does not disappoint as she travels the thin line between sanity and perceived insanity, and the unrelenting belief that she will indeed have her promise.

She hears in her soul the still small voice directing her, calming her, settling her and to her that settles it. Medical opinions be damned, armed with only faith, she is able to portray the faith journey without appearing murky, muddled, compromising or unbelievable. 

The cast of deeply flawed characters, written by Morgenthaler, give these seasoned performers the chance to deliver from the depths. They handle the material effortlessly. 

Kim Basinger gives a tour de force performance. She is impressive, a bit psycho, disheveled and committed. Her passion is stunning and her execution flawless.

Jordan Prentice, tackles his role with fervor, becomes essential and creates an oddly sympathetic character.

Filled with symbolism, The 11th Hour, strongly associates with the Old Testament story of Abraham and Sarah and the trouble that generates from opting to fulfill the promises on one’s own accord instead of waiting, in faith.

A faith based thriller, The 11th Hour, captures from the opening scenes. Riveting, attention grabbing a nail biter to the very end. With twists and turns, stunning heartbreak, performances that are captivating, layered plots, and explosive suspense to the very last scenes, The 11th Hour is a must see!

The 11th Hour opens June 12, 2015. 

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