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20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An effective little film about a dirty bomb attack in Los Angeles, January 30, 2008
We lived in Florida during the Cuban missle crisis and instead of ducking and covering under our desks we went out in the hallway and huddled against the wall during our nuclear attack drills. When I was growing up it was pretty much taken for granted that one day the Cold War was going to go nuclear. There were movies from "On the Beach" to "Fail-safe" that played out possible scenarios for the end of the world as we knew it, and even "Star Trek" assumed that World War III was going to be a nuclear war. When "The Day After" came out Carl Sagan was on the special edition of "Nightline" that followed saying that a real nuclear winter would be much worse than what we say in that made for television movie. But now we live in a world where a full out nuclear exchange between two super powers seems extremely remote if not impossible and we would like to believe that a terrorist attack involving nuclear weapons is not inevitable. We have seen such a scenario played out with super Agent Jack Bauer on "24," but that never really involves ordinary people. That is not the case with "Right at Your Door," which plays out against our worst fears at a very basic level.
Brad (Rory Cochrane) and Lexi (Mary McCormack) are living together in Los Angeles and on this fateful morning she goes off to work. The next thing Brad nows there are reports on the radio of a series of blasts in the city. It turns out that not only is this a terrorist attack, but that the bombs were dirty bombs that are filling the air with toxic clouds of deadly ash. Of course Brad tries to contact Lexi, but the phone lines are jammed and when he jumps in his car to try and go and find her, his efforts are thwarted by the police. Chances are she is already dead, but Brad simply does not know one way or the other. So he returns home and seals up his doors and windows against the toxic cloud that is coming, and waits for Lexi to call or get back home.
This turns out to be only the grim opening act of first-time writer-director Chris Gorak's film, which was screened at Sundance in 2006 and only grossed $64K when it was released for a few weeks last year. Now that it is out on DVD, word of mouth should help "Right at Your Door" get a much larger audience, because this is an engrossing little film. One aspect of the film's low budget is that instead of television coverage of what is going on, all we and the characters get are radio broadcasts. However, this ends up working in the film's favor as our imagination fills in the grim details, as do the simply sights of black clouds of smoke and the rain of ash particles. More money would not have improved the finished product and most of the story plays out in and around the home that Brad and Lexi share. There is also an echo of 9/11 in how family and friends reach out by cell phone.
The film that "Right at Your Door" reminds me most of in terms of these apocalyptic films ends up being "Testament," the harrowing story of a family trying to survive in the aftermath of a nuclear war far enough away from the destruction, but not far enough away from the fallout. "Testament" has a much longer time-frame than "Right at Your Door," but it shares the same intimate focus. Overall I liked the way things played out in the end (I certainly was not expecting that particular resolution), although the set up for the end game did strike me as a bit strange when it was happening. That was the one bit that immediately struck me as unbelievable that under those circumstances the cell phone (this reference will make sense when you see the film) would be an issue worth pursuing. I was going to round down on the film because of that flaw, but you know me. I think irony is the master trope of the universe and when you surprise me with an ironic twist at the end of the story I end up rounding up.
The DVD extras include the scripts for a pair of alternative endings for the film, and it is heartening to think that at least Gorak did not film either one of them, because I am getting tired of filmmakers getting to the ending of their flms and picking options (just take any of the classic films of your choice, imagine alternative endings, and shudder accordingly). This is an effective little film, and while I would not call it great, it certainly deserves to be seen by more people than have caught it to date. That is why I have talked in general terms about the opening act and left the other two-thirds of the movie for you to discover for yourself.
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14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the best films at Sundance 2007, January 24, 2008
Why this incredibly crafted and relavent movie was never in wide release eludes me. I attend the Sundance Film Festival every year and see many films that ultimately have become quite famous. This film deserves just as much, if not more, fame as "Little Miss Sunshine", "Hustle and Flow" among others. It still ranks as one of the most unforgettable and original movies I have ever seen. Buy it/rent it and prepare to rock your world for a few days!
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Be Prepared If This Happens, January 30, 2008
Although produced on an independent budget, the filmmakers here have created a fantastic thriller. Set in Los Angeles, the film starts out as every day in our lives does, until that is, an unknown terrorist organization sets off a series of dirty bombs in the downtown area. Recalling the panic that set in on 9/11, our main characters don't know what to do, who to trust, or where to find credible information. What ensues is a truly scary proposition of what might happen, police declare marshall law, hospitals become traps for unwilling victims, and general chaos follows. The performance of Rory Cochrane is really what drives this tale, as he might finally get the recognition he deserves as a dramatic actor, after appearing in such films as Dazed & Confused, and A Scanner Darkly for the past 10 years, as well as CSI: Miami. The supporting cast is excellent as well, although it only takes a few poeple to drive this story, an element of its genius. I won't give away the ending, but it is definitely a twist you don't see coming. Some might not want to see a movie about what might possibly happen in the future, but I think that would be missing the point. We need to ask ourselves what we would do as a society, so we don't end up like the characters in the movie, if it ever does happen.
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