This Spanish thriller has caught on like... well, wildfire. Yes it errs on the side of melodramatic and is eager to play with expectations but it does so quite deftly, and exploits the audiences fears and distrusts. In the end the film is about how our assumptions can turn us into what we don't want to be, or perhaps be seen as. The film's plot may be a bit of guilty pleasure but what is interesting in Firebreak is the way it gets under our skin and says something uncomfortable about us.
The film goes a little heavy handed into it's suspicious elements and manipulates the audience to react certain ways. Then its ending throws some of that back in the audience's face a bit. The end result is actually to get us to reflect on how we felt and why we reacted the way we did. Do I think the film handles this brilliantly? Not really. But it is effective. Also it a fun watch with its melodramatic approach. The cast is strong and its filmed very effectively.
Plus the fire subplot in the background is interesting. At first the film feels like it's going to be a disaster movie style film but that's not really where this goes. Still the fire is like a constant reminder of impending danger which acts like a pressure cooker and heightens the tension of the main plot. In that way the film ends up offering a tense watch that then leads to some interesting reflection at the end. So while not perfect Firebreak is a bit of a pleasant surprise.
Firebreak
Starring: Belen Cuesta, Joaquin Furriel, Enric Auquer
Director: David Victori
Writers: Javier Echániz, Asier Guerricaechebarría, Jon Iriarte, David Victori
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