This is a dark comedy that trades in awkward absurdity, as so many of them do. A woman is left in a wheelchair for life as a result of a man who was texting while driving. He awkwardly apologises to her for what he did, and she starts to befriend him and hang around with him. As a comedy it mines a very familiar vein of the absurd and awkward, with the stilted performances that you would expect - it does it well though, even if it is familiar. What stayed with me though was the darkness - and how very well observed it was.
At its heart the film calls BS on people who do something terrible and want to make amends. Patrick's apology is very much about allowing him to move on from his guilt, not about his victim. This is shown through the film as he resents that he is made to continually confront his crime and has to have it as part of his life - just like Noreen has to do thanks to him. It is delivered with an absurdist edge and humour, but this is essentially what the film is and it feels so pained and awkward for it (but in a good way). It is so well observed in this space that it makes the darkness so much better than the comedic element - albeit that the comedy framing and detail means it is easier to access than it may have otherwise been.
Well worth a look for how well it delivers such a dark insight into the aspects of humanity that help us cope with the terrible things we can do.
At its heart the film calls BS on people who do something terrible and want to make amends. Patrick's apology is very much about allowing him to move on from his guilt, not about his victim. This is shown through the film as he resents that he is made to continually confront his crime and has to have it as part of his life - just like Noreen has to do thanks to him. It is delivered with an absurdist edge and humour, but this is essentially what the film is and it feels so pained and awkward for it (but in a good way). It is so well observed in this space that it makes the darkness so much better than the comedic element - albeit that the comedy framing and detail means it is easier to access than it may have otherwise been.
Well worth a look for how well it delivers such a dark insight into the aspects of humanity that help us cope with the terrible things we can do.
