Joey Magidson
I’ll watch Ben Foster in anything. I find him to be one of the more compelling and underrated actors in the business. So, when there’s a film that features Foster playing a different type of a role, as well as one where he gets to fall apart? I’m very much seated. Sharp Corner gives us Foster acting his ass off, even if the movie isn’t always fully sure what it wants to be. The issues are there, to be sure, but they don’t prevent you from appreciate Foster.
Sharp Corner is a weirder one, especially early on, when it threatens to almost be a black comedy. Soon, it turns much more into a psychological drama or even thriller, especially once things begin to crumble by the midway point. Even when the flick can’t make up its mind, Foster is doing great work and pulls you through.
Josh McCall (Foster) and his wife Rachel Davis-McCall (Cobie Smulders) are just moving into their dream home, along with their young son Max (William Kosovic). No sooner have they put him down for the first time in the new house does a terrible car accident happen outside. There’s a sharp corner out there and the drunken teenager couldn’t handle it. Max is scared, Rachel is unsettled, and Josh becomes obsessed, while assuring everyone it won’t happen again. It happens again….and again…and again.
The more these accidents happen, the worse they get, while Josh becomes more and more determined to save lives. In doing so, he’s ignoring the needs of his son, the concerns of his wife, and even putting them at risk. The further down this path he goes, the clearer it is that he needs to turn back, yet the more determined he gets.
Ben Foster gets to play both some of his lowest key work as well as some of his most intense, which is saying something. The latter is not shown as normal, considering we’ve seen him be incredibly intimidating on screen before. Here, he’s obsessed, sad, and hard to get a read on, which gives him a lot to play with. Cobie Smulders has her most substantial film part in some time, though the narrative does not really flow through her. In addition to William Kosovic, the cast includes Gavin Drea, Jonathan Watton, and more.
Co-writer/director Jason Buxton, working with Russell Wangersky, is at his best when the focus is on Foster. It’s a hard character to identify with, but they never make him a monster, so you’re still invested in him coming through the other side. Sharp Corner is on less firm ground when the therapy and work subplots are only given half attention to. The family dynamic, led by Foster’s Josh, is the most interesting, so it’s where the focus should be, and more or less is.
Sharp Corner succeeds because of Ben Foster. This is the type of role very well suited for his brand of intensity, especially when given a slightly new angle. Even if the film is far from perfect, watching Foster is never anything less than compelling. Because of him, this is a movie worth seeing.
SCORE: ★★★
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