Unlocking the Secrets: A Deep Dive into the Movie November. The other day – I pulled together an Oscar competition, and over on Patreon, one of my founding members – @Nancy – destroyed the rest of us that attempted to keep up with her. Just decimated us all. Congratulations, Nancy! So… what did she want as her prize for her enormous win?
This.
She wanted me to watch the show Friends and to analyze the metaphysical ins and outs of the movie. Cough. No, actually, she wanted me to watch Courtney Cox’s 2004 movie entitled November. I’d never heard of it. And I’ll be honest, Nancy – whom you probably do not know… but you should get to know over on Discord – has regularly recommended some pretty scary movies. And by scary… that is putting it lightly. But, as she won fair and square, here I am. So, let’s check out this old 4:3 ratio movie, shall we?
November Movie Walkthrough
November Cycle #1: Denial
In the eerie and enigmatic world of the movie November, darkness descends upon photographer Sophie Jacobs and her attorney boyfriend Hugh during a routine evening out. What begins as a mundane dinner date takes a harrowing turn when a routine stop at a convenience store turns into a nightmare. Caught in the crossfire of a violent robbery, Sophie’s life is shattered as Hugh and others fall victim to senseless violence.
Haunted by the traumatic events of that fateful November night, Sophie finds herself grappling with grief and confusion. Unable to erase Hugh’s presence from their shared space, she seeks solace in therapy sessions with Dr. Fayn, hoping to alleviate the persistent headaches that plague her. But as Sophie delves deeper into her own psyche, unsettling discoveries emerge, leaving her questioning reality itself.
As Sophie navigates the murky waters of her own memories, she is confronted with chilling revelations that challenge everything she thought she knew. With each twist and turn, the lines between truth and illusion blur, leaving Sophie teetering on the brink of madness. As she confronts the ghosts of her past, Sophie must unravel the mysteries of November before they consume her entirely.
Director Greg Harrison crafts a haunting and hypnotic journey through the depths of one woman’s psyche, inviting viewers to explore the dark recesses of the human mind. With its atmospheric visuals and spine-tingling suspense, “November” offers a mesmerizing meditation on memory, trauma, and the fragile nature of reality. As Sophie grapples with her own demons, audiences are drawn into a world where nothing is as it seems, and the only certainty is uncertainty itself.
November Cycle #2: Fate
The movie cycles back through the same events, sort of. Over the course of the cycle we learn that Sophie, as a result of her affair, are on the outs, and Hugh will be moving out. But most significantly, this time through though, instead of staying in the car, Sophie goes into the store. This time though, Jesse (her unacknowledged affair) is also at the convenience store. But instead of Hugh getting shot and killed, the killer shoots at her, but he is out of bullets. She is barely saved.
November Cycle #3: Making Amends
November 7th – the third time round, we watch as Sophie tries to make restitution for her failings with Jesse – the individual she had an affair with. She make amends with her mom, and tries to be more easy to live with. She also catches her mother’s wine glass, in a prescient Groundhog’s Day nod. But ultimately, when Hugh goes into the convenience store in order get Sophie some chocolate, they are both murdered by the thief.
Thoughts on the Patterns of November –
Most people that watch this film probably incorrectly presume that this movie is repeating the same events over and over again, but doing it a little differently each time. But that is not true. I liken this to how most people seem to think that Memento happens… they presume that the entire movie goes backwards. And instead, there are reverse sections that are told in color, and there are forwards sections that are told in black and white. Similarly, here in November, we have sections of Sophie and Hugh’s relationship that actually continue to progress along a maturation journey.
So, instead of the movie doing A and B… where A is the convenience store, and B being all the rest… we are actually experiencing A and 1 (the beginning of the rest), A and 2 (the continuation of the rest), and finally A and 3 (the conclusion of the rest). Does that make sense? Maybe I should sketch a timeline to help make it make more sense.
To see what I mean – consider Jesse’s arc. He goes from an affair that is causing headaches in round 1, and to whom Sophie is still emotionally connected to… who she can’t even talk about. To an ended relationship – note the turned down coffee invite. And finally, in round three, it flips to someone that Sophie doesn’t even think about anymore, and whom she’s moved on from.
THiNC’s Thoughts on Nancy’s Movie Suggestion November
The movie is a contemplation of the idea of grief. But, it’s from the fairly well-trod perspective of the dead. Right? Think The Jacket, Jacob’s Ladder, and Stay. We watch as Sophie struggles to wrap her brain around how it is that this domino effect has culminated in her own death. A random evil happens to her, and she struggles to make sense of her life… her moral failings (her affair), her failed relationships (with her mother, her husband, and Jesse, etc.), and all the lost opportunities throughout her now cut short life. That is the main way to view this movie – and it’s the way in which it lends the filmmakers the most credibility and sanity.
But there are other ways to contemplate this movie. Permutations of a life through a prism. Various different possibilities in a world of multiversal possibilities, all of which are warnings. None a pantheon of joy or glory. At the end of the day, all the multiverses we watch through, we see end in death and grief… whether hers or other’s.
There is an interesting moment in the movie where we finally see Sophie and Hugh’s dinner prior to the convenience store chaos. The duo both get a fortune cookie – and Sophie’s says -“Depart not from the path of your life.” And Hugh’s? “It’s never too late to change your life’s course.” What do we make from this? One is correct, and heading rightly on its course towards death. But the other could be avoided if only given the will to do so? Sophie is being judged for her sin? And Hugh? If only he were to pick his head up and realize where he was standing? Similarly, Hugh undergoes a similar transitional arc from newly realized cheated on husband, to moving out, to returning to the apartment, and restored relationship. If anything, its this Pollyanna-ish spin on this chaos of life that is my biggest detraction from the film. But this is pretty easily explainable as the thoughts of a dying woman who regrets her negative life choices. Or not. It could just be bad. But I don’t want Nancy to kill me… so I’m going with the former, not the latter… thank you very much.
But if given enough time, we’d see that Hugh isn’t all that either. Sure, in the black and white of their marriage – Hugh has a leg up to her affair. But if given enough altitude we’d see that he too has had an affair, or has kleptomania. Or I don’t know. We are all flawed after all.
Edited by: CY
