This is a great film featuring stellar performances from Stephen Rea and Mena Suvari and sardonic wit and direction by Stuart Gordon best known for 80’s cult flicks like Re-Animator and From Beyond. Lately Gordon has tried his hand at less supernaturally based material. But his adaptation of David Mamets Edmund, as well acted as it was, wasn’t anywhere near as inspired as this often funny, gruesomely pointed film commentary on modern selfishness and societal indifference.

Brandi is a party girl desperately trying to get promoted at the assisted living center where she works as a caregiver. After some hard clubbing, she hits a man with her car while driving home. Thomas is only recently homeless but now he’s stuck in Brandi’s windshield. Brandi now does what anyone would do at this point- she drives home, locks the car in the garage and in terror of not getting her desired promotion leaves nature to take its course. Of course she should have been more concerned about human nature. needless to say the best laid plains of mice and men...

This is all based on a true story.

Gordon Rea and Suvari are smart enough not to play this for big laughs counting on the central absurdity of the situation to cue the audience in on the irony. Instead we feel a little bit for everyone here. Brandi’s boss is insufferably insensitive, her boyfriend a philandering cowardly blow hard. Thomas too is surrounded by people that have written him off. Gordons point about the essential isolation of all these characters is driven as much by the poor choices they make as by anything else. In short in a society we are responsible for one another unless we want to live in a world where the dogs eat dogs (or runs dogs over) to survive.

This should have had a commentary by Gordon and cast as well as a featurette on the real-life 2001 incident it was inspired by but alas we get no extras.