By Jan Hamilton
As the film begins, Sadie (Olivia Wilde) furiously punches a heavy bag. Focus and determination are evident. It’s almost as if the punching bag is a person she’d like to obliterate. The film zips through scenes from her life: from the first time she arrived at a battered women’s group, her slow growth from a victim to the person she is now, and finally, the work she does, which is to convince abusive spouses to get out of their families’ lives. As she goes about her very dangerous business, she is constantly looking over shoulder, not just for the people she is “removing,” but mostly for her ex-husband (Morgan Spector looking like a mean Robert Downey, Jr.). She thinks she is finally strong and skilled enough to make him pay for what he did, but it’s a real question of who will survive when they finally meet.
This was my favorite film of the festival.
Film Credits:
Director: Sarah Daggar Nickson
Executive Producer: Thomas Benski, Bryan Reisberg,
Wayne Marc Godfrey, Robert Jones, Arnaud Lannic, Babak Eftekhari,
Arianne Fraser, Delphine Perrier
Producer: Lars Knudsen, Andrew D Corkin, Randall Emmett,
George Furla, Ambyr Childers, Olivia Wilde, Allison Rose Carter
Screenwriter: Sarah Daggar Nickson
Cinematographer: Alan McIntyre Smith
Editor: Ben Baudhuin, Matthew C Hart
Production Designer: Gino Fortebuono
Sound Designer: Gene Park
Music: Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans
Principal Cast: Olivia Wilde, Morgan Spector, Kyle Catlett,
C.J. Wilson, Tonye Patano, Chuck Cooper, Betsy Aidem, Judy Marte
Additional Credits: Casting Director: Jessica Daniels,
Costume Designer: Sarah Maiorino, Music Supervisor: Joe Rudge