David O'ConnellStraightheads
November 17th 2009 04:26
In film, people respond to terror, harm and brutal defilement with revenge; for cinematic purposes - bloating reality to outrageous proportions - it's the nasty, sadistic sort of vengeance that works best. Think of Charles Bronson in the Death Wish films, Sally Field in John Schlesinger’s Eye for an Eye (1996), Tom Wilkinson in Todd Field’s In the Bedroom (2001) and Jodie Foster in Neil Jordan’s The Brave One (2007).
The opening scenes of Dan Reed’s Straightheads, a modern British variation, don’t bode well: a businesswoman, Alice (Gillian Anderson), flirts with the cocky young technician, Adam (Danny Dyer), installing surveillance equipment in her home. She even surprises him with an invitation to a fancy party at a plush mansion in the woods where their animal attraction to one another leads to a frenzied coupling on the expansive grounds.
On the way home, trouble begins when they smash into a stag after failing to keep their eyes on the poorly-lit road ahead. Then a shady group in a van they’d passed earlier on - Adam giving them the finger for obstructing their path - pull up threateningly behind them.
Naturally they turn out to be a despicable trio of rogues out for revenge for this minor infraction and the couple is beset upon, Adam receiving a royal kicking, whilst things get very ugly once attentions are turned upon Alice. She’s savagely raped and left for dead; in a blackly ironic moment, the fallen stag is later seen raising its head first in the morning light before trotting off, seemingly unharmed.
After weeks have passed neither has been able to readjust to normal life again; they cling to one another, Alice externally showing no signs of the attack, but suspicious of every stranger she encounters. Adam, on the other hand, has a permanent reminder of the event in the loss of sight in one eye.
The real strength of Reed’s film - and where it shrugs off the unconvincing set-up - lies in its underlining ambiguities; both Alice and Adam are prone to believably human failings in addressing the fear of confrontation and its ramifications. Instead of psychological wounds that can be cauterized with proclamations of retribution and steely intent, these people begin to doubt their intended course of action on ethical and moral grounds, something that manifests itself in hesitant actions rather than words.
Alice, more than Adam, wants to inflict a suitable punishment; in a neat inversion of stereotypes, it's her aggression that swallows his by degrees, leaving him dubious - not to mention struggling with both emotional and physical impotence - as her determination expands like a poisonous shroud around them. Before long they track down one of the suspected attackers, Heffer (Anthony Calf) and set up camp in the woods nearby, strategizing as they wait for the appropriate opening. But can she act upon her seething, unstable emotions?
Reed’s film plays out in unexpected ways rather than shadowing the familiar structure of revenge films. The human element intrudes upon the detached, mathematical approach of their idealized preparations. Both leads are strong, sympathetic agents of Reed’s strongest ideas, with Anderson in particular shining in a challenging part that makes her iconic role as Dana Scully seem like a distant memory.
Though Reed lets things get out of hand in the final moments, Straightheads proves to be surprisingly engaging with its tight, accommodating narrative and uncomfortably dark subject matter. Though bypassing cinemas, this well and truly rises above the stockpile of B-grade fodder on the rental shelves and is a perfect late-night pleasure for those seeking a dish best served cold.
The opening scenes of Dan Reed’s Straightheads, a modern British variation, don’t bode well: a businesswoman, Alice (Gillian Anderson), flirts with the cocky young technician, Adam (Danny Dyer), installing surveillance equipment in her home. She even surprises him with an invitation to a fancy party at a plush mansion in the woods where their animal attraction to one another leads to a frenzied coupling on the expansive grounds.
On the way home, trouble begins when they smash into a stag after failing to keep their eyes on the poorly-lit road ahead. Then a shady group in a van they’d passed earlier on - Adam giving them the finger for obstructing their path - pull up threateningly behind them.
Naturally they turn out to be a despicable trio of rogues out for revenge for this minor infraction and the couple is beset upon, Adam receiving a royal kicking, whilst things get very ugly once attentions are turned upon Alice. She’s savagely raped and left for dead; in a blackly ironic moment, the fallen stag is later seen raising its head first in the morning light before trotting off, seemingly unharmed.
Adam (Danny Dyer) and Alice (Gillian Anderson) getting intimately acquainted at the party.
After weeks have passed neither has been able to readjust to normal life again; they cling to one another, Alice externally showing no signs of the attack, but suspicious of every stranger she encounters. Adam, on the other hand, has a permanent reminder of the event in the loss of sight in one eye.
The real strength of Reed’s film - and where it shrugs off the unconvincing set-up - lies in its underlining ambiguities; both Alice and Adam are prone to believably human failings in addressing the fear of confrontation and its ramifications. Instead of psychological wounds that can be cauterized with proclamations of retribution and steely intent, these people begin to doubt their intended course of action on ethical and moral grounds, something that manifests itself in hesitant actions rather than words.
Alice, more than Adam, wants to inflict a suitable punishment; in a neat inversion of stereotypes, it's her aggression that swallows his by degrees, leaving him dubious - not to mention struggling with both emotional and physical impotence - as her determination expands like a poisonous shroud around them. Before long they track down one of the suspected attackers, Heffer (Anthony Calf) and set up camp in the woods nearby, strategizing as they wait for the appropriate opening. But can she act upon her seething, unstable emotions?
The aftermath
Reed’s film plays out in unexpected ways rather than shadowing the familiar structure of revenge films. The human element intrudes upon the detached, mathematical approach of their idealized preparations. Both leads are strong, sympathetic agents of Reed’s strongest ideas, with Anderson in particular shining in a challenging part that makes her iconic role as Dana Scully seem like a distant memory.
Though Reed lets things get out of hand in the final moments, Straightheads proves to be surprisingly engaging with its tight, accommodating narrative and uncomfortably dark subject matter. Though bypassing cinemas, this well and truly rises above the stockpile of B-grade fodder on the rental shelves and is a perfect late-night pleasure for those seeking a dish best served cold.
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Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Comment by Anonymous
Comment by David O'Connell
Screen Fanatic
Yes Anon, I have the same reaction to that name!!