Safran Company, The, PalmStar Media, Hours Capital,
Paul Walker, Genesis Rodriguez, Kerry Cahill, Yohance Myles, Christopher Matthew Cook, Nick Gomez, Judd Lormand, Michelle Torres, Tony Bentley, Lena Clark
Nolan Hayes (Paul Walker) is having an awful day. First a storm is coming, and his wife who is not due yet for several months has gone into labor. Rushing to the hospital to get her taken care of Nolan has no idea that he’s going to end the day with a baby girl. As the storm gets closer, it appears a terrible hurricane is about to hit New Orleans, and yes, this was the big one, Katrina. The doctor comes out to let Nolan know that his daughter is alive and doing well, but will need to be in a respirator (incubator) for at least 48 hours, but the terrible news is that his wife has died of complications during the birth. Nolan goes through a wide range of emotions as the injuries and bodies from the storm start to arrive overwhelming the hospital. Then the news that Lake Pontchartrain has pushed through the levee and the city is beginning to flood, and soon it’s clear that the hospital has to be evacuated. But since the incubator is not mobile, the doctor assures Nolan that he will stay throughout and that he must stay too and care for his baby girl. Later he finds that the doctor went out to assist some patient transfers, and the floods make it impossible for him to return and Nolan is all alone in the flooded hospital doing everything he can to keep his daughter alive by himself. The power is out, and the battery backup has failed and will only take a charge for a couple minutes at a time, and the only generator he can find is hand cranked, so for the next 2 days he must stay awake, keep the generator cranked every few minutes, and try to survive the chaos that is unfolding around him in this extreme suspense film of courageous grit and determination to stay awake and keep the baby safe.
This is a film that is really a Hidden Gem. I was enthralled with this story and didn’t want to take my eyes away, and even though it’s based on the lonely survivor trying to beat the odds story that is relatively common, it’s based on real history and real stories of the horrors of hurricane Katrina. So this is historical fiction, much like Titanic, and a similar story in a way, although comparisons to Tom Hanks in Castaway and of course James Franco in 127 Hours. Anyone who has heard of this film probably only is interested because it was of Paul Walker’s last films. This should have gotten a lot more attention, because it is a stunning performance by him in basically a one man show. Through most of the movie Paul is stuck talking to himself all alone in a dark flooded hospital while the world around him is crumbling. But long before the flood and the power outage, Paul takes us through many emotions dealing with a daughter he no longer wants at first due to the crushing loss of his true love. It comes on so unexpectedly, and that’s something I could relate to. I remember more than 30 years ago, taking my wife to the hospital with stomach pains, only to have a tiny little preemie baby that was totally unexpected. Fortunately there were no problems other than three weeks of infant NICU, but it was such an unexpected shock. Paul plays that really well and goes through a whole range of emotions. Then the hard times arrive, and his character sets out to save his daughter at any cost, and with all the crime and lack of help, a story of Katrina couldn’t be told any better in a documentary than it is in this piece of historical fiction. I was really impressed with his performance, and though the script is not top notch, his performance pulled it out perfectly and this is the kind of role we never saw Paul Walker in before with all kinds of drama. He was stuck in those fast car action chase movies for too long, and people hardly got to see his real talent. I highly recommend this film as one of the most suspenseful films I’ve seen in a long time, so well played, and very, very worthwhile. Find this one! It’s available on streaming all over the place and will no doubt find a home on premium TV as well. Catch it.
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