Review: The Square
It's always heartening to see independent productions get a chance to find audiences in theatrical release, and SXSW 2009 selection The Square, a thriller from Australian filmmaker Nash Edgerton, is a superb example. The movie opens Friday in Austin theaters.
Set in the suburbs during holiday season, The Square is a deceptively simple story built upon chaos theory, where seemingly minor events have tragic consequences. Ray (David Roberts) is a construction manager living the good life and building more opportunities for others to do the same. Like many cinematic middle-age men, Ray is dissatisfied with his life but not enough to leave his wife. Ray's fortunes change when his lover approaches him with a pile of cash and the seductive opportunity to start over.
The embodiment of a successful alpha male, Ray is incapable of crossing his wife let alone leaving her. Carla (Claire van der Boom) may appear to be a submissive wife to a part-time criminal, it's her will that persuades Ray to take a chance to break free. Instead, actor David Roberts manages to infuse Ray's selfishness with a wavering moral compass and instead of a milquetoast he's one of the more interesting characters to mess up his life on film in a long time, with his circumstances equally riveting.
Based on a script by Joel Edgerton (director Nash's brother) and Matthew Dabner, The Square is a riveting story that embodies the adage "the devil is in the details." Full of twisted irony, The Square keeps toying with expectations while Ray and his lover Carla keep digging themselves in ever deeper. When things go tragically wrong, Ray and Carla not only have to deal with the consequences of their actions, but also with her vengeance-driven husband Smithie (Anthony Hayes). In addition, Billy (Joel Edgerton), the criminal Ray hired to fake the destruction of the stolen money, is out for blood himself.
As things seem to get exponentially out of control, it's hard not to admire how easy the Edgertons make the implosion of Ray's life seem, as they rely on ordinary events and basic motivations. For all the best-laid plans are unraveled in The Square, the Edgertons neatly tie up all the seemingly innocuous details. It's not a predictable tale, and that's what makes The Square stand out among contemporary thrillers.
In an unusual move, Apparition is releasing The Square with the same short that preceded it at SXSW. Spider is a 2007 short directed by and starring Nash Edgerton, which helps set the tone for The Square with its seemingly ordinary story with unexpected and darkly comic twists. By itself, Spider is an outstanding short, but paired with The Square it seals Edgerton's reputation as a filmmaker to watch, and like this 2008 Sundance Honorable Mention says at the beginning, "It's all fun and games til someone loses an eye."
A cautionary tale of choice and unexpected repercussions, The Square is a memorable thriller that not only establishes both Edgertons as talents to watch. Pairing The Square with Spider makes for a double bill that may spoil you.