THIS CONTAINS SPOILERS-
I was in complete shock at how well done and suspenseful this film is. Both actresses deliver the goods- Andrea Toth (of Rescue Me) and Kathleen Robertson both are perfectly cast as the Career Woman and the Single Mother who meet in a very disturbing way. Within the 2 hours of the film, we live a 24 hour period in both of their lives concurrently.
Andrea is an Ad Exec with huge pressure to perform in her career as well as home- her husband is unemployed and she has 2 teenage children to support, and another on the way. As viewers, we can plainly see that she is completely preoccupied 100% of the time. She is up for a promotion and today is the day she must give a presentation that will make or break her promotion to VP.
Kathleen is a single mom living in a small apartment right off the freeway, raising her child, who is in a wheelchair. Her car is on the fritz, and she has no money to spare. She works as a lawyers assistant and everything in her life seems to go wrong. When we meet her today, she is late to work and isn't there to receive a affidavit her boss needs for court that day. He demands she go get the document- and she ends up having to run for blocks and blocks to catch up with the bicycle messenger. She finally gets the document only to return to work to be fired. At her wits end, she pawns her necklace to buy her child a birthday present. When she goes to meet her ex and her child for birthday dinner, her ex threatens to take her son away. As the viewer, you can literally feel the pressure in your chest, watching this woman's world crumble.
Andrea, meanwhile, is called back to her sons school during her hectic day because he has taken one of his father's antique guns to school. She cant get her husband on the phone, so she takes her son home. She then sees her husband pull up with his golf clubs in the back of the car. Again, as a viewer- you can identify with the frustration. She returns to a job site where an ad is being shot, and her car is towed. She then fails to get to the important client meeting and loses the promotion. When she finds out all the flights out of the airport are delayed, she makes the unwise decision to get to the client at the airport.
Throughout the entire film, the two main characters are weaving in and out of each others lives- all while desperately trying to be Super People Who Get Things Done Without Help. First Andrea cuts Kathleen off on the freeway in the morning, causing the lateness that makes her miss the document delivery. Then the commercial being shot makes Kathleen unable to return to work with the document on time. Andrea's problems with her son at school cause her to be absentminded enough to park in a tow away zone- therefore losing the client. Kathleens car stalls once again at the end, this time with Andrea behind her trying to get to the airport.
Kathleen recognizes Andrea as the woman who caused the delay in the morning, and in a Falling Down moment, confronts Andrea who is still in her car. She then proceeds to bash the SUV with the telescope she had purchased with the money from pawn. Andrea floors it in fear- and Kathleen follows in hot pursuit. They have a nightmarish accident, which is shown throughout the story in pieces, without giving anything away.
At the end, we discover that after the accident, Kathleen attempts to help Andrea out of her SUV in the pouring rain. At that time, Andrea pulls the antique gun and shoots Kathleen in the chest. They are both taken to the hospital and Andrea lives, while Kathleen does not.
Claiming self defense, Andrea will go to trial for the shooting- but she did not lose the baby, although she lost part of one of her legs. She then vows to spend more time on things that matter. It was devastating to see the impact of road rage and frustration from the day to day pressures we all suffer. So many things loom large when we cant step away from them and see them clearly. This story is a perfect example of that, and the actresses are both superb.
I was in complete shock at how well done and suspenseful this film is. Both actresses deliver the goods- Andrea Toth (of Rescue Me) and Kathleen Robertson both are perfectly cast as the Career Woman and the Single Mother who meet in a very disturbing way. Within the 2 hours of the film, we live a 24 hour period in both of their lives concurrently.
Andrea is an Ad Exec with huge pressure to perform in her career as well as home- her husband is unemployed and she has 2 teenage children to support, and another on the way. As viewers, we can plainly see that she is completely preoccupied 100% of the time. She is up for a promotion and today is the day she must give a presentation that will make or break her promotion to VP.
Kathleen is a single mom living in a small apartment right off the freeway, raising her child, who is in a wheelchair. Her car is on the fritz, and she has no money to spare. She works as a lawyers assistant and everything in her life seems to go wrong. When we meet her today, she is late to work and isn't there to receive a affidavit her boss needs for court that day. He demands she go get the document- and she ends up having to run for blocks and blocks to catch up with the bicycle messenger. She finally gets the document only to return to work to be fired. At her wits end, she pawns her necklace to buy her child a birthday present. When she goes to meet her ex and her child for birthday dinner, her ex threatens to take her son away. As the viewer, you can literally feel the pressure in your chest, watching this woman's world crumble.
Andrea, meanwhile, is called back to her sons school during her hectic day because he has taken one of his father's antique guns to school. She cant get her husband on the phone, so she takes her son home. She then sees her husband pull up with his golf clubs in the back of the car. Again, as a viewer- you can identify with the frustration. She returns to a job site where an ad is being shot, and her car is towed. She then fails to get to the important client meeting and loses the promotion. When she finds out all the flights out of the airport are delayed, she makes the unwise decision to get to the client at the airport.
Throughout the entire film, the two main characters are weaving in and out of each others lives- all while desperately trying to be Super People Who Get Things Done Without Help. First Andrea cuts Kathleen off on the freeway in the morning, causing the lateness that makes her miss the document delivery. Then the commercial being shot makes Kathleen unable to return to work with the document on time. Andrea's problems with her son at school cause her to be absentminded enough to park in a tow away zone- therefore losing the client. Kathleens car stalls once again at the end, this time with Andrea behind her trying to get to the airport.
Kathleen recognizes Andrea as the woman who caused the delay in the morning, and in a Falling Down moment, confronts Andrea who is still in her car. She then proceeds to bash the SUV with the telescope she had purchased with the money from pawn. Andrea floors it in fear- and Kathleen follows in hot pursuit. They have a nightmarish accident, which is shown throughout the story in pieces, without giving anything away.
At the end, we discover that after the accident, Kathleen attempts to help Andrea out of her SUV in the pouring rain. At that time, Andrea pulls the antique gun and shoots Kathleen in the chest. They are both taken to the hospital and Andrea lives, while Kathleen does not.
Claiming self defense, Andrea will go to trial for the shooting- but she did not lose the baby, although she lost part of one of her legs. She then vows to spend more time on things that matter. It was devastating to see the impact of road rage and frustration from the day to day pressures we all suffer. So many things loom large when we cant step away from them and see them clearly. This story is a perfect example of that, and the actresses are both superb.