By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 2.5 cats
Director: Christopher Munch
Starring: Agnes Bruckner | Campbell Scott | George Gerdes | Leith M. Burke
Country: united_states
Year: 2020
Running time: 108
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10151656/reference
Diane says: “UFO fans (like my sweetheart) will enjoy Christopher Munch’s feature THE 11TH GREEN, and its insistence that the U.S government has squelched evidence of alien encounters for over 70 years. Even our presidents can’t overrule the military cabal that wants to keep it all secret.
“Munch leads us through a story about investigative reporting of impossible flight technology and a father-son conflict, adding recreated footage of speculative history (Eisenhower’s meeting with aliens, the murder of the first Secretary of Defense), and some surprising scenes of Obama time-traveling to talk to Ike and a universal-consciousness-promoting alien ‘swami.’ I don’t remember hearing about any of this while Obama was in office! (Aside from the famous Jimmy Kimmel conversation)
“Cinematographic choices are poor to the point of ludicrousness. Campbell Scott does a good job as our hero, the investigative reporter. David Clennon has a short but perfect scene as an ex-politico who shuts down a party with drunken insults and gratuitous farts. 2 cats.
“Showing online with ticket prices supporting your favorite indie theater. https://theatricalathome.com/products/the-11th-green”
Michael says: “You’d think a film featuring time-traveling Presidents, aliens altering the course of humanity, and deep, twisty, political conspiracies would make for a compelling film. Sadly, THE 11TH GREEN, written and directed by Christopher Munch, doesn’t quite manage to do so, which is disappointing, because I adored Munch’s 2002 film, THE SLEEPY TIME GAL. I suppose it’s notable that it’s been 18 years between the two films of his that I am experiencing. And it’s not that THE 11TH GREEN is a bad movie. It’s not; it’s just not entirely successful.
“Jeremy Rudd (Campbell Scott) is news anchor for a progressive, conspiracy-laden newscast that calls out government officials for all the secrets they are keeping.When forced to travel from New York to the California desert after his estranged father (himself one of those government official) suddenly dies, he meets Laurie Larkspur (Agnes Bruckner) his dad’s erstwhile confidante and assistant, to set things in order. Naturally, while he is there, he begins to uncover, or in some cases, is presented with, information that lookalike it might confirm some of his more ‘out-there’ conspiracies. The action alternates with some trippy sequences set in 1967, where ‘The President’ (you know, the first black one) has some interesting conversations with Ike.. Even gets to meet a rather influential character that may not be from earth, despite the fact that he looks like he might have stepped right out of DAZED AND CONFUSED.
“What sinks THE 11TH GREEN ultimately, is that it tries to darn hard to make sense of everything and gets bogged down in unraveling secrets and justifying actions. The blame must fall squarely on the screenplay, because technical aspects are strong, especially art direction, production design and cinematography. And it’s quite likely THE 11TH GREEN will garner a nomination from me as well. I was quite taken by Campbell Scott’s performance, and I must give some credit to Munch for it. I’m pretty lukewarm about Mr. Scott. He’s done good work, he’s done forgettable work, but he’s never done anything that made me sit up and take such notice, especially in such a mediocre vehicle. Jeremy Rudd’s behavior is so… well, realistic, that at times it would pull me right out of the movie, and I believe I even said out loud to myself, ‘No one would ever say that in a movie! It’s too realistic!’ This feeling hit me several times, and Scott was so natural in his delivery I couldn’t help smiling whenever he did it.It was also nice to see Bruckner again who (except for a memorable turn in Quentin Dupieux’s WRONG COPS) I hadn’t seen since her breakout role in BLUE CAR (also, coincidentally from 2002). So sadly, Mr. Munch gets a near miss on this one, with some fine elements, and an audacious premise keeping it from sinking all together. 3 cats“