Director: Chris Gorak, US, 15, 96min
Stars: Mary McCormack, Rory Cochrane, Tony Perez
On general release
The esteemed Hollywood production designer Chris Gorak (Minority Report, Fight Club) makes a bold directorial debut with this low-budget drama about a dirty bomb attack on Los Angeles. McCormack and Cochrane are the emblematic couple caught by the blast. She’s outside their house and infected, he’s sealed inside, away from the killer chemical dust. How they react in the immediate aftermath of the bomb is the subject of the film, which unfolds like a well-worked stage play — two protagonists, housebound setting, lots of dialogue. Naturally, considering the budget (less than $1 million), the special effects are sparse but effective (downtown LA on fire). The performances are suitably intense and the politics certainly provocative — it’s just a shame that they had to go for an audience- pleasing twist at the end.
KEVIN MAHER