The film opens to a close-up of Foster, imprisoned in his sweltering car during his commute, or rather, lack thereof. The highway has become a parking lot, and rudeness pervades from all sides, in the forms of honking horns and profanity. We gain a real sense of the building tension, as we hear a super-imposed heartbeat over the soundtrack. Visually, the shots are dominated with warm colors, oranges and yellows. The pressure intensifies to near emergency levels, as the audience is certain that a panic attack is inevitable, and then… the door opens and Foster q

So begins Foster’s journey, or rather descent into madness. In his exploits he encounters every type of meaningless transgression, each taking a higher toll on his sanity. He blows up at a price-gouging Korean grocer who refuses to give change for a phone call, and vandalizes the store. When confronted by violent gang members, he lashes out at his assailants and effectively defends himself. When refused service at a burger chain, his needs are only met after brandishing an automatic weapon. All the while we the viewers are cheering him on, eccentrically righteous in his quest to right these inane wrongs.

What remains most disconcerting throughout the course of the movie, is the demeanor taken on by Douglas’s character. No matter the situation, Foster never seems to fit. He displays a strange calm when being targeted in a drive-by shooting, barely acknowledging the hail of bullets all around him. When the entire restaurant is paralyzed in fear of the machine gun held above his head, he cracks jokes, to the amusement of noone. But what is most awry in his character is the overwhelming calm, and deep s

Some topics in this essay:
Michael Douglas, Robert Duvall, Decay Rudeness, Conversely Prendergast, Foster Prendergast, Joel Schumaker, William Foster, Detective Prendergast, pushed edge, story progresses,