Movie Review: Accident is a Beautiful, if Lightweight Thriller

Two women on their way to a music festival hitch a ride with two dudes in a stolen car. Things get slightly rapey and the car goes a shootin’ down into a ravine, where our “heroes” become trapped in the overturned vehicle. Horribly wounded the gang tries to survive the night with little chance of rescue…but can they survive each other and the evil that greed can inspire?
While the story line, as evidenced by my lil’ synopsis up there may be a bit lightweight (I actually would call it compact, streamlined, and uncomplicated), Accident more than makes up for it in visual panache. Director Dan Tondowski and Cinematographer Maxime Cointe have created a masterpiece (in the ‘looking good’ department that is) of long, unbroken shots and serpentine camera moves (both natural and digitally enhanced) that are rather astonishing at times, and they also manage to effectively dial it back once the protagonists become trapped within the confines of the vehicle and the rain drenched environs just beyond the crash. Another plus is the mounting tension, as the severely injured passengers must survive their wounds, downed power lines, an emergency tracheotomy, arguments of morality (the fuuuu?!!), and the sinister allure of a case found within the purloined vehicle they took for a joyride…an allure that leads to flat out murder! Finally the way story points are reveled via well placed flashbacks was inventive and fun…well as “fun” as they can be given the state of affairs…
On the downside, while the goings-on are suspenseful, and well punctuated by those enlightening flashbacks, the middle section of the flick does suffer from a bit of the ol’ “leaden ass” syndrome, as characters chat it up instead of taking action. As is often the case, if this picture were trimmed of ten minutes or so the whole affair would be completely breathtaking instead of just pretty to look at with periods of intermittent well done tension (is this a revoltin’ review, or a weather report?).
If you are looking for a taut thriller with a simplistic story and emphasis on lookin’ purdy, then Accident is worth your time; it’s like the potato chip of suspense…tastes great, looks good, but once it’s devoured it’s forgotten and chances are you’ll be hungry again an hour later.