Ben Foster gives us a heart-breaking rendition of a man descending into obsession, in the dark and tense new drama on circuit, ‘Sharp Corner’.

• This is director/co-writer Jason Buxton’s second feature film.
• Buxton’s debut feature, Blackbird, won two Canadian Screen Awards, as well as the Claude Jutra Award for Best Canadian Feature Film Debut.
• It was also the Grand Prix winner at Ecrans Junior at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.
• Catch Tat Wolfen’s entertainment commentary on The Sandton Times Hour, every Monday at 7pm on 91.9 FM.
• Visit www.sandtontimes.co.za for more stories.

Sharp Corner opens with a family of three moving into their new home, or “mansion”, as their son perceives it (so I’m guessing that they’d previously lived in a modest city apartment). Their house is situated on a sharp bend in the road, and (without my giving away any more than the trailer does) the tranquillity of their semi-rural lifestyle is soon shattered by a car careening around the corner, and smashing into the tree on their modest front lawn, a mere couple of metres from their lounge. We soon come to find out why their abode had been so modestly priced…

Josh McCall (Ben Foster) is a good man; a supportive husband and attentive, loving dad. His is a warm, functional, and happy family. Unfortunately, however, he lacks assertiveness and isn’t the resilient sort, allowing himself to be dominated by circumstance. At work, a colleague who had been lower than he in the hierarchy, and whom he had mentored, is promoted above him, and Josh simply accepts this as one of those things that happen. But what’s about to happen in his private life will dwarf the drama of his work situation – in a life-changing fashion.

The accident on his lawn and its attendant tragedy, amplifies his sense of helplessness and mirrors his passive lifestyle. And it soon develops from an unconscious metaphor into an obsession that will deeply affect those around him. It would be so easy for the movie to demonise this man, in the fashion of ‘The Shining’, but that clearly isn’t the business of the director/co-writer Jason Buxton, who navigates more nuanced waters – certainly initially.

Josh’s wife Rachel (Cobie Smulders) is a therapist, and she’s arguably too quick to reach for those quick-fix catch-phrases and solutions of the stereotypical American shrink, than to truly attempt to address her husband’s concerns and torments. To my mind, she’s too hasty in criticising her husband, and coldly distancing herself from him. Does she truly lack empathy? I’ll leave that for you to decide.

Caught in the middle, is their sweet little six-year-old Max (William Kosovic), who isn’t only traumatised by what grows into the ongoing car crashes, but finds himself knocking between two parents whose behaviour has abruptly changed, and whose affection for one another has clearly grown cold.

Guy Godfree’s cinematography is thoughtful and telling, and never gives in to that temptation of making pretty pictures, as opposed to serving the story. The judicious use of sound is also one of the film’s many virtues. While the sound mix plays a crucial role in keeping the tension as taut as a violin string, Stephen McKeon’s measured score keeps pulling away from sensation, and reminding us of the tragedy that’s tearing this family part. It’s an aural tightrope that we walk throughout the film.

Sharp Corner is a truly remarkable depiction of how an unexpected external event, or series of events, can change behaviours, and shatter the tranquillity and rhythm, of a family’s existence – to the point of shattering it. It’s a slow burner, and I found it a whole lot more unsettling than the ongoing current flow of horror movies that spill through our cinema circuit, with fang-toothed demons hiding behind every door. There are, of course, few horrors greater than a man possessed of irrational notions.

Tat Wolfen is a multimedia communicator, entertainment commentator and leisure journalist. Tune in for Tat’s razor-sharp takes on the latest on stage and screen, every week on The Sandton Times Hour – Mondays at 7pm on 91.9FM or on a fine selection of the world’s leading podcast platforms. [Disclaimer: Views expressed by reviewers/contributors are their own, and do not necessarily reflect those of The Sandton Times and its ownership or management.]

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