RAGE (2010)

Directed/Written by Christopher R. Witherspoon

An indie love letter to Stephen Spielberg’s DUEL, I couldn’t help but enjoy the shit out of RAGE. Though the plot is fairly simple–a man is relentlessly tormented by a motorcyclist in a dark helmet for seemingly no apparent reason, pushing him to the brink of madness–the action is surprisingly good for a smaller budgeteer and the story itself proves to have enough twists to make this homage a little more substantial.

One of the things writer/director/actor Christopher R. Witherspoon does effectively with this story is that he keeps things simple. Though the intensity of the rider’s pursuit is high, Witherspoon is able to work within his budget and still keep things dangerous. As our hero, played by Rick Crawford, evolves from level-headed loverboy to trod-upon victim to vengeance-filled avenger, this evolution takes a logical albeit extreme path. And though the lengths our rider is willing to go are dark, Witherspoon keeps all of his reckless and despicable acts believable until things reach a level of tension that really grabs a hold of you. The climax of this film goes to places I wasn’t prepared for, really boring under the skin and holding back very little. You’re going to be surprised how dark this one goes.

Crawford’s performance is stiff at times, but he is able to deliver the emotional moments necessary for us to follow him throughout and give a care. He’s even a little more even-keeled than I would be at first, given the torment the driver puts him through. The rest of the cast is convincing as well, with the rider acting as the powerful silent menace as if he leapt right out of Spielberg’s minimalist trucker pursuit film from the seventies.

When the film literally talks about DUEL, it gets a bit too obvious for my tastes, but this is just a small misstep in what is otherwise an effective tale of road rage for the modern age. I’m extremely interested in what Christopher R. Witherspoon has in store for the masses next as this, his first film, is a winner that pulls no punches.