Trauma can take people to dark places, sometimes at the cost of everything they hold dear. This is the central theme of Sharp Corner, a film starring Cobie Smulders and Ben Foster, which premiered at TIFF 2024. Directed by Jason Buxton, the film explores the many facets of trauma and stress, charting the descent of a once-happy family into places they never imagined. It offers an introspective look at obsession, questioning how a seemingly noble goal can fail to justify the extreme lengths taken to achieve it.
Sharp Corner follows tech middle manager Josh (Ben Foster), his wife Rachel (Cobie Smulders), and their son Max (William Kosovic) as they move into their dream home. What begins as a major milestone for the family quickly turns into a nightmare when a car accident occurs on their front lawn, killing the 18-year-old driver and sending a car wheel crashing through their window.
This brutal wake-up call leaves Rachel wanting to move, but Josh insists on staying, even as he becomes increasingly obsessed with the accident and the teenager who died. When a second accident occurs, and Josh once again witnesses someone die in front of him, the once-happy family man embarks on a journey that feels disconnected from reality. His new obsession seems irrational, driven by a need to save someone from a similar fate.
The reason the house was so affordable becomes clear: it sits at the end of a dangerous corner on the highway, a hotspot for frequent accidents. As more cars crash onto their front lawn in increasingly brutal and destructive ways, Josh’s drive to save someone from the carnage becomes his sole purpose. What might seem like a noble goal quickly consumes his life, causing him to neglect everything he once valued. He ignores his wife and son, slacks off at work, and lets his projects fall behind as he spends his time learning CPR, watching the corner of the street, and obsessing over the “what-ifs” of every potential accident.
Sharp Corner is not an easy watch, with lingering shots of misery and destruction that feel almost dreamlike, detached from a typical sense of reality. Many questions remain unanswered, such as how any city could allow such a dangerous corner without installing guardrails, and how anyone could still be permitted to live in the house despite the frequent accidents. However, in the film’s reality, these details are secondary. The focus is on creating tension, steadily building toward an inevitable, painfully bleak conclusion.
“If you’re in the mood for a thought-provoking film and want to see Ben Foster’s portrayal of a man’s descent into madness, Sharp Corner might be worth your time.”
Ben Foster excels in his portrayal of a loving family man who has spent his life as a doormat. Playing the character as a Midwestern dad—complete with a comb-over and a Ned Flanders-style mustache—Foster captures the character’s frustrating passivity. At work and at home, Josh is shown to be passed over and pushed around by more dominant people who impose their expectations on him.
Foster makes Josh’s obsessive behaviour feel believable, even as he spirals into self-destruction, gradually alienating those around him. The audience feels his pain as others comment on his lack of motivation, and we understand how his need for control leads him to make devastating choices.
The rest of the cast delivers solid performances that help illustrate how Josh has been worn down. Smulders portrays a family-focused wife and mother who, despite being a therapist, takes a somewhat detached view of her husband’s struggles. As Josh’s behaviour grows increasingly absurd, Sharp Corner places the audience in Rachel’s shoes, making the idea of staying in a house that witnesses weekly carnage seem more insane as the crashes and bodies pile up.
As Sharp Corner enters its third act, the film becomes completely unpredictable. Each step in Josh’s descent into madness is more absurd than the last, creating a sense of detachment from reality. However, director Jason Buxton plays his final card effectively, delivering one of the bleakest endings of the year. The conclusion is expertly crafted and offers a payoff that will leave audiences shaken.
Sharp Corner is an unusual but oddly compelling film. While I’m not sure I can say I enjoyed it, I was fascinated by watching Josh destroy his life in the most self-destructive ways imaginable. Despite its challenges, if you’re in the mood for a thought-provoking film and want to see Ben Foster’s portrayal of a man’s descent into madness, Sharp Corner might be worth your time.
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