Sharp Corner is a character study of repressed, prickly ambiguity from writer/director Jason Buxton (Blackbird).

The McCalls feel as though they’ve moved into the perfect house, until they discover an unfortunate wrinkle behind their rural address. Their new house looks out to a winding backroad that challenges vehicles to its turn. The drivers that succumb to the rough road turn up in the McCalls’ front yard where they’re either fatally injured or dead. This becomes a morbid fascination for Josh (Ben Foster of Hell or High Water), despite the disapproval and disgust from his wife Rachel (Songbird’s Cobie Smulders) and the trauma that fazes his son Max (William Kosovic). Josh’s obsession wavers between a hero complex (prompting him to study up on how to resuscitate somebody through CPR) and a desperate need for a new connection (as he finds himself attending the funeral for somebody who died on his property).

Josh is a really complicated character considering how deliberately inconsistent he’s been drawn by Buxton. However, this is exactly the type of character that Ben Foster thrives with. Known for his underrated work with intense and dramatic personalities, Foster rises to the occasion and helps fill in the gaps around Josh’s selfishness and insecurities. His work in Sharp Corner can be likened to Jake Gyllenhaal’s role in Nightcrawler, a huge compliment considering Gyllenhaal’s performance was one of the best of that year. I have a feeling those who see Sharp Corner will hold Foster’s performance in the same regard.

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Addison Wylie: @AddisonWylie