Review of Right at Your Door (2006) by Seth C — 24 Mar 2008

For its low budget, Right at Your Door is remarkably convincing. A movie with a plot like this (dirty bombs set off in downtown LA) would normally be handled with a bigger budget and we'd probably see the explosions too.

We never see the actual bombs going off, of course, but we see shots of the LA skyline shrouded in smoke and they don't look at all fake. The initial panic after the bombs go off is deeply unsettling and effective, and the decision to focus on only one couple throughout was smart--we never know very much, even at its deeply depressing end, which is likely how it would be if something like this happened in real life.

It starts to lose me in its condemnation of the supposed rescue tactics, though--yes, they can be harsh and uncompromising and seemingly cruel, but what other options are available, especially in a city as populated as LA? Regardless of its politics, this is a realistic, smart, sad, well-acted, and genuinely disturbing movie.