23 Minutes to Sunrise

ONE HELL OF A DINER
23 MINUTES TO SUNRISE plays like an episode of "Twilight Zone"--I half expected Rod Serling to suddenly emerge, cigarette in hand, and say "These poor souls think they're in a diner but they're really new travelers in the Twilight Zone!" Unfortunately, 23 Minutes doesn't have the sharp writing as TZ. It's pretty clear from the get-go who Eric Roberts' character is and how the movie will resolve.The diner patrons are stock characters---the disillusioned veteran; the sympathetic abused girlfriend; the older couple facing a midlife crisis; Roberts' mysterious companion; and the thieving couple.
The script is snail-paced, so its up to the cast to keep the audience involved but they just don't have the chutzpah to reach out and grab you by the throat pleading you to "Care about me, dammit!" Logic is ignored throughout the fikm---the patrons don't eat; the cook never cooks; who is the arsonist that appears early on and then disappears and what purpose does he serve?
The film's...

A Slow-Build Existential Drama: 8 People Trapped, Both Physically And Metaphorically, In A Diner Where No One Eats
On many levels, the low-budget "23 Minutes to Sunrise" is not a particularly good movie. If you wanted to pick apart the screenplay's flaws and inconsistencies, it wouldn't be hard to do. Despite this, though, I was pleasantly surprised at how well the movie actually worked. The experience might be categorized as a thriller, or maybe even horror, but I see it as something much simpler than that. This is an existential drama, an examination on the value of life. As disparate souls are brought together in an all-night diner, each will have to face the essential truths of their lives. Each must confront a personal Hell and then, in many ways, undergo the ultimate test. They may just come face to face with the Devil himself. Don't come to "23 Minutes to Sunrise" for non-stop action or scares. If you do, your expectations will not be met. Instead, this is a slow-burn drama with a supernatural bent. So while not perfect, I credit the film with taking the time to unravel an actual...

Suspenseful even with a static scene in a diner
One would think that a movie set mainly in a diner would be slow and dull. But that is not the case in this competent story of several people who work at or eat in the diner, with one of them being capable of granting a supernatural gift to anyone who will accept it.

Interesting plot twist.

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