Review of Right at Your Door (2006) by Michelle M — 19 Jul 2007

When a dirty bomb explodes in LA, a husband must face the agonising choice of whether to let his infected wife back into the house, or save himself. In height of what has happened in London and New York in regards to terrorism, there is no surprise that LA is the target here. But, viewers and actors never find out who is responsible for the disaster, since much of the information is supplied through the radio, which is surprising in a day of Internet, mobile phones and television.

The film gets straight into the action. A bomb goes off, and a husband searches frantically for his wife, who is stuck in the middle of it. He is torn between his safety and his love for his wife when she returns home. As with Phone booth, much of the film is set in one location, in the house in this case. As the husband is the focus in the first half, he isn?t sure of what is going on in the outside world; this leaves the viewer as confused as the characters, which is a good thing in this case. The imagery as he searches is very different to the typical Hollywood style viewers are used to. It shows a man rushing to locate his wife, with shots cutting back and forth in small clusters, which at times look like they are filmed on a handheld camcorder. There are shots where husband and wife just sit, deep in small talk discussing marriage, kids and the future, which are all individual, and able to stand-alone. Unfortunately, after the initial blow, it takes a little while to get back into the action; but sure enough it does. One aspect that is a little disappointing, is that at times, the film seems as though it doesn?t know what direction it is heading, or where the ending will be.

The movie stars Mary McCormack and Rory Cochraine, which seems like an unsuited couple to begin with; husband is a scruffy musician, where the woman goes off to work in the city centre looking smart. But they are both amazing in making this film both believable and enjoyable. Rory is an amazing actor. Has managed to work his way up the Hollywood ladder, from early roles in Dazed and Confused, and Empire Records to a high profile program like CSI: Miami, to more popular films such as A Scanner Darkly and now this role. He shows a lot of emotion which is something we are not used to seeing him do; anger with the police, shock when police shoot an innocent man, depression and misery when he must lock out his wife, and utter confusion in the last five minutes. Mary is also a gifted actress, as she is credible in her role, and cares for a small child, as she is getting ill.

The only words to describe the ending of this flick are amazing, gob smacking, and completely unexpected. If you hated CSI: Miami when Speed was killed, you won?t be pleased with the ending this flick has in store. What he thought he was doing for the best was actually worse off for him in the long run. An amazing film if ever I?ve seen one. Viewers sit for 90 minutes watching a partnership go through hell. What if you were in that situation? Would you be able to leave your loved ones on the doorstep, while you were safe inside your home or would you sacrifice your life to be with someone you love, not really caring about the outcome?