Those who know me know that I thrill to disaster movies.  Always have, probably always will.  13 Minutes is a disaster movie, chronicling the arrival in an Oklahoma town of a massive tornado — yet the tornado itself is not the focus of the drama.  This is a character piece, with more than a full hour of character development taking place before the twister sets down, plus more afterward.  Thus, this is a disaster movie for those who shrug at the prospect of spectacular disaster; it’s about the people.

Lindsay Gossling’s film follows several families, couples or groups of people as they go about their daily lives in tornado country.  The warnings are made, early and often, but few take them seriously.  This movie makes a great case for why they should, because their farming community is about to be devastated in ways they cannot imagine.

There is little spectacle to be seen, although when the young hearing-impaired girl (Shaylee Mansfield) stands in the middle of the street looking at the huge cyclone barreling toward her home it is chilling.  But the effects of the wind which are depicted are first-rate, both jarring and terrifying.  The real power of the visuals takes place once the twister has passed on and the devastation reaches the horizon.  Anyone who has ever seen this up close can verify that the filmmakers have done a first-rate job in creating a hellish landscape of destruction.

Yet the real power of the film lies in the characters and how they relate to each other.  One scene midway through between a tired mother (Thora Birch) and her teenage daughter (Sofia Vassilieva), talking about pregnancy, is absolutely outstanding and is the perfect example of how to handle a delicate conversation.  Other characters use the situation to change their lives drastically, for better or worse.  It is compelling, sometimes uncomfortable and always watchable.  Good stuff.  ☆ ☆ ☆.  6 July 2022.