First-time feature writer/director Abner Pastoll proves he’s anything but with the Hitchcockian-styled thriller ROAD GAMES. The story focuses on Jack, a young hitchhiker from England, who is now alone in France trying to make his way back home after a bad vacation. While he’s looking for his own ride, he sees a young woman in a car being manhandled by a perceived boyfriend. Trying to play the Good Samaritan, Jack rushes to her aid, which only results in her now being tossed out of the car, stranded on the road with Jack. As they decide to walk together, Veronique explains to Jack about a serial killer stalking the area, littering the woods with dead bodies. With Jack’s broken French and Veronique’s less than perfect English, the two make a nice coupling. Needless to say, however, no one is too anxious to give the couple a ride, lest they be the serial killers.
But hope springs eternal thanks to a local Frenchman, Grizard, who gives them a lift back to his house where his wife Mary awaits. While Grizard is rather gruff and suspicious (picking up dead animal carcasses of the road doesn’t help this feeling) , Mary, an American, is quiet. She doesn’t speak much and has a vacant look about her. Be it fear, be it sedation, something feels amiss with both Mary and Grizard. As Grizard insists Jack and Veronique stay for supper and he’ll give them a ride in the morning, it quickly becomes evident, no one is going anywhere and there’s more to Grizard and Mary than meets the eye.
As Jack and Veronique, Andrew Simpson and Josephine de la Baume, are beyond believable with a chemistry that is welcoming and likeable. Veteran actress Barbara Crampton adds emotional depth with her turn as Mary while Frederic Pierrot’s mere presence and vocal demeanor makes one’s skin crawl. Completing the small ensemble is Feodor Atkine who throws one more log of ambiguity into the cinematic fire with his turn as Grizard’s friend Delacroix. With the appearance of each character, suspense only builds as we hear constant references to the serial killer, escalating suspicion as to everyone – or none of them – being the potential killer.
Pastoll delivers a well crafted script complete with twists and turns that truly take one by surprise thanks to built-in ambiguities and visual grammar that juxtapositions a visual lightness and tone thanks to natural lighted exteriors balanced against the darker themes of the serial killer and that unfolding among the characters. Calling on the talents of cinematographer Eben Bolter, there is a beauty and poetic fluidity that sweeps us up into the story where we then become riveted by the intriguing and mysterious plot. Polished production values include impeccable sound design courtesy of Peter Baldock and a subtly moving score from Daniel Elms that complements the story undertones.
Never revealing too much, Pastoll leaves the unseen and unspoken to the audience’s own imaginations, fueling the intensity of the “whodunit” and “who is it” mystery taking us along on these unforgettable ROAD GAMES.
Written and Directed by Abner Pastoll
Cast: Andrew Simpson, Josephine de la Baume, Frederic Pierrot, Feodor Atkine, Barbara Crampton
