A man awakens late one morning after sleeping in to discover two armed assassins in his bedroom. Who are they? Who hired them? Why is he a target? For 10 minutes -- from 11:50 to noon -- they taunt him and threaten him ... and then the gun goes off, we rewind to 11:50 again, and our focus shifts to other players in this conspiracy. And shifts again and again, as we relive those ten minutes from multiple perspectives, getting some answers, but not all, and are left, in the end, with a uniquely edgy sense of discomfort. The most intriguing plot at work here involves director Scott Storm and screenwriter Paul Osborne, who’ve joined forces to create a thrillingly original film that plays with narrative structure and tweaks the expectations audiences bring with them from long experience with crime flicks -- though this one references such varied films as Memento, Groundhog Day, and Pulp Fiction, it is is own creature, and a reminder that while the tedious sameness of studio films would seem to suggest otherwise, there’s a universe of new stories and new ways to tell them to be explored. And the indie realm is where that’s happening. Ten ‘Til Noon has won a slew of festival awards -- the production’s MySpace has the impressive list, as well as trailers and other info -- but for the moment, the only place you can see the film is at the exclusive engagement beginning today, Friday, March 30th, at Laemmle’s Sunset 5 in West Hollywood. Screenings in other cities are planned, however -- see the film’s official site for details. If it comes around your neighborhood, check it out. It’s a breath of fresh cinematic air.

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