Stuck (no spoilers)
By MovieCritic on 06-17-2008
Stuck is an unusual and interesting treat - a horror movie without a supernatural or science fiction angle and a message film that manages (most of the time) to show rather than tell its social commentary. Rationals will enjoy the dark humor and the sharp lighting work that helps the film move pretty seamlessly between naturalism and surrealism. Idealists will appreciate the deft handling of some potentially provocative moral themes. The suspense should keep Artisans going. Guardians may like this film least; there is only one truly sympathetic character, and his fate is depressing and scary, even before his real problems start.
Brandi (Mena Suvari), in her mid-twenties, works as a nursing assistant in an assisted living facility where the rewards for her hard work are a patient who calls for her by name to clean up his "accidents" and a boss who dangles the possibility of a promotion in front of her. Brandi is friends with coworker Tanya (Rukiya Bernard). The two party together after hours with Brandi's boyfriend Rashid (Russell Hornsby), a small-time drug dealer. On the day that laid-off project manager, Tom (Stephen Rea), has been kicked out of his low-rent apartment, given the runaround by an employment office, and is wandering the streets after police eject him from the park, Brandi hits him with her car while she is dialing her cell phone. He ends up stuck in the windshield with his legs on the hood and his head dangling over the dashboard. Rather than take him to the hospital, Brandi puts the car in her garage and goes about her evening. She mentions the accident (but not the stuck man) to Rashid, who reassures her that he's wasted plenty of people, some "in broad daylight", and that the police won't care about the death of a bum. Suspense mounts as Brandi tries to hide her secret and figure out what to do while Tom tries to escape. The acting performances are solid, and the cast members seem to enjoy their parts. Some especially intelligent things about the film: The screenplay was inspired by a true story where race was a factor in the human interest. The director chose to present the vast majority of scenes as occurring between two individuals, each of a different race: Tom and a chronically homeless man in the park; Brandi and Rashid; Brandi and Tanya; Rashid and a lover; Brandi and boss Mrs. Pashkewitz (Marguerite McNeil). Minor characters are used to neat effect. "Stuckness" is presented in multiple layers: Brandi's dead end job; Tom's unemployment; the elderly patients living life from one pill to the next; Rashid's bravado, which leads him to ask for trouble he doesn't really want. The weakest scenes are those that occur at Brandi's work. They seem contrived to make a point about her socio-economic status, and there are more of them than needed to communicate that.
Verdict: Less blood and gore than horror fans may expect; it has a literary feel. It makes a nice break from movies that stick closely to genre formulas.
