Review of Stuck (2002) by Laurence C — 21 Oct 2008

Laughing is one thing; cringing is another one, completely. I sincerely don't know how Stuart Gordon manages both at the same time.

At once refreshingly offbeat and dissapointingly undervelopped, Stuck is one of those films that would have felt completely at ease during the seventies... or the eighties. Or the nineties, for that matters.

Either way, director Gordon handles with extreme skill his black comedy/thriller inspired by this disturbing news event-- it's just a pity he doesn't push it far enough. When he gets going, there's no deying that he truly knows how to find the funny in a terminally unfunny situation. It all results in some sort strangely-paced, lacerating portrait of humankind at its very worst. Still, one wishes the plot's dramatic tension escalated even more, or at least stopped dilly-dallying.

Also, whenever Suvari's immensely expressive eyes are fueled by anger and panic, she's at her very best-- it's a shame her fabulous tantrums aren't exploited enough. The same goes for Rea and Hornsby : they are excellent reactors, but they don't get enough screentime where their characters are pushed to extremes... sort of.

It all results in a very, very angry (nearly too much) satire that accounts for a study of what turns a fairly normal person into a cold-blooded sociopath who'd wish for a man's death because he inconveniences her. But in the end, it comes off more like some sort of cross between anthropology and exploitation. That works fine with me.