Fantasia Festival Review: A SAFE DISTANCE Subverts Genre Expectations
A Safe Distance is a character study wrapped up as a genre movie. Yes, the film has elements of a crime thriller, but Gloria Mercer’s drama is really about the evolving relationship between Bethany Brown’s Alex and Tandia Mercedes’ Kianna. Playing at the Fantasia Film Festival, A Safe Difference is something of a change of pace for the festival – which is normally known for its fright pics and sci-fi films.
Brown’s Alex and her boyfriend Joey (Chris McNally) are camping in the woods when they have an argument following a marriage proposal gone wrong. Joey storms off, leaving Alex wandering aimlessly alone. She stumbles across Kianna (Mercedes) and Matt (Cody Kearsley), a Bonnie and Clyde-style bank-robbing combo who are hiding out after their last crime. The couple befriend Alex and she joins them on their next heist, but soon Alex and Kianna’s bond starts to grow stronger, while Matt is slowly ostracised by the pair – which (as you can imagine) causes friction among the group.
Told in flashback form, A Safe Distance sets up a mystery which isn’t really much of a puzzle – it’s more of a framing device to help keep the audience hooked from the get-go. Like I said before, on the surface A Safe Distance purports to be a thriller, but what Gloria Mercer and writer Aidan West have managed to do is craft an intriguing low budget relationship drama that manages to feel much bigger in scope because of its setting. The woodland location adds great production value and Mercer and cinematographer Devan Scott use it to add impressive texture. Often films like this can feel like a group of filmmakers went into the woods and just started shooting, but this feels organic and filmic. It has real depth.
Low budget films can often be hit and miss in the acting department, but A Safe Distance’s small cast acquit themselves very well. Bethany Brown and Tandia Mercedes do particularly good work as the central duo who go from strangers to lovers throughout the movie’s running-time. This never feels like it’s forced, despite the brief time frame. It’s good acting – but it’s also good writing and directing.
You could argue that A Safe Distance needs more dramatic push on a narrative level to add some additional weight. You may be right, but ultimately the film very much engages as an intimate character study – and surely that was the aim.
