I came across this film completely by accident of course, but it's amazing what you can find on the internet, and I was reluctant to get it at first, because I knew it would be pretty grim, except it sounded fascinating and I wanted to see Mena Suvari in action. What I got was a damn clever thriller that was based on a true story, which doesn't actually surprise me. And they say that truth is stranger than fiction!! Not in this case, it's not. Apparently, in the real life incident, the driver was prosecuted, but I don't know what happened to the victim. In the film, that was hardly going to happen. It was played out with extreme dark humour, (reminded me of the satirical bite of Robocop actually), and I thought Stephen Rea was extraordinary as the man who is 'stuck' in the windscreen. What amazing effects and it didn't even feel far fetched either. It wasn't anyway, since it was based on fact.
What starts off as a grim story about an accident, delves into what really can happen when you refuse to face consequences of actions which you know will land you in trouble. And Mena Suvari was outstanding as the nurse who has one moment of carelessness which changes her life, but it was the nuances in her character as the film goes on that were impressive. Imagine a nurse who discovers a rather darker side to her nature and her psyche goes through a major change. A nurse!! Ironic in itself. And look out for the scene when she goes a bit crazy when she catches her boyfriend with another girl, and she turns violent!! She starts out being the scared woman who's done something awful, then she turns into a kind of captor, for fear of prosecution (and maybe something else), and she's after a promotion as well. All the stuck man wants is help, but he soon realises that something is very wrong and is forced to help himself, which he actually manages to do, and it becomes a battle for survival. A homeless man really has nothing to lose, so his survival instincts are pretty strong.
It makes for quite grim viewing I suppose, but it certainly has a lot to say about human nature, and it keeps you guessing until the very end. Personally though, I don't think it's quite as grim as many have made it out to be. A car crash itself is grim, but that doesn't mean to say it has to be depressing. I have a copy now and I'm keeping it. Pretty challenging stuff I thought.