Spoiler status: Minor plot points, but nothing that will take the suspense away from this survival thriller.
Photo via Trash Film Guru.
When I watch a movie, I try to guess within the first few minutes if it’s a male or a female director. Spare me the judgment if this rubs you the wrong way. Try it yourself; it’s incredibly easy to get it right.
2015’s thriller Curve focuses on Mallory (Julianne Hough), a woman who hits quite a hitch on her way to get hitched thanks to a hitchhiker. (Sorry.) The fellow (Teddy Sears) seems nice enough, even helping her with her car. But after reading the basic premise of the movie, the viewer knows the friendly banter between strangers won’t last long.
This is where the uneasiness of the movie comes in. Some films take the reader along for the ride, discovering each twist and turn as the protagonist does. In Curve, we know this guy is messed up as Mallory offers him a ride. We know he’s messed up when he starts musing about fate. The tension comes from wondering when Mallory will realize it. In movies like this, at least at the beginning, the viewer knows more than the protagonist, and that’s downright uncomfortable.
And revealed it becomes, in the most jarring of fashions. I actually said “OMIGAWD” out loud, which is how I know I’m into the movie I’m watching. The only weak point of the moment is the sudden change in lighting. The comforting road-trip sun basking through the car windows is eclipsed by a flash of grey over the sick dude’s face. I see what they were going for, but the symbolism was obvious to the point of corniness.
Photo via Trash Film Guru.
There are other attempts at cleverness that seem like a reach, like when Mallory burns her wedding veil to keep warm, a too-perfect representation of her “I do” hesitation coming to a head.
Oh yeah, the male director thing! This woman’s tale of survival can’t begin until an obligatory shirt-removal scene where Hough tinkers around in the car for a new top after spilling on hers, leaving her exposed on the road in nothing but tiny shorts and a black bra. It’s not too unrealistic, as a tank top and shorts is probably what I’d wear for a long drive in the heat too. I’m not shaming Mallory’s practical and totally cute fashion choices. But the pointless moment, as well as gratuitous angles of bulbous cleavage when she’s eventually trapped after an accident to escape the creepy hitchhiker, 127-hours, feel voyeuristic.
It reminded me of the all-too-common movies where a beautiful heroine is tortured to the point where it almost seems to be a source of misogynistic pleasure for the filmmakers and/or viewers. Elijah Wood’s cyber thriller Open Windows comes to mind.
(Sidenote: I couldn’t remember the name of Open Windows so I googled this to find it. #Journalism.)
I digress. I’m not making any judgments on the filmmakers of Curve or the director (Iain Softley) because I know nothing about him and I’m sure he’s very nice. I’m just saying the porny shots were uncomfortable in this gritty tale of s
urvival and threats of sexual violence that laden the film. It becomes clear that rape isn’t in the cards, and it never was; the threat of it just used to torture Mallory. Preying on this inherent fear that I would argue all female viewers share is cruel, but certainly makes the situation feel real.
Despite the objectifying shots and costume choices, Mallory is tough as nails. She does all the regular survival stuff you see in movies - drinks her own pee, eats vermin, and uses every tool available to gain intel about her situation and try to get the hell out (the car’s broken mirrors are helpful here).
The man taunts her throughout the movie that she got herself into this mess, victim-blaming to the nth degree. And when the viewer comes to see that his horrors are even worse than originally thought, we see him using this same logic to others.
But never one to be a victim, Mallory flips this rationale on its head.
“Maybe you just got in the wrong fucking car,” she eventually snarls. I nearly clapped.
The objectifying body shots, inherent victim-blaming to the story (even I thought, “Damn if she wasn’t so nice to his dude she wouldn’t be in this situation!), and threats of sexual violence make it a tough watch for a female viewer or anyone who likes to brag that they own a feminist t-shirt. These are inherent in tons of thrillers so Curve isn’t anything new in this respect. But Mallory’s grit is powerful, showing that she’s more than just a pretty face and yes, this asshole did get in the wrong fucking car.
Worth watching: Yes. Some cringey objectification, and nothing all that new, but a suspenseful film nonetheless and one badass bitch that makes it all worth it.
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