Oscar-winner Adrien Brody's handsome face had already gone to hell before the opening scene of Wrecked. His character awakens in the wreckage of a car that had careened off the road. His leg is wedged under the sagging dashboard and the doors are jammed. He sees his bloodied, bruised face in the rear view mirror along with the bodies of dead men in the backseat. Gradually it dawns on the viewers: Brody's character doesn't remember who he is or how he got here.
The debut film by director Michael Greenspan (out Aug. 30 on DVD) is a brilliant masterpiece of great acting in a confined space. With no one to talk to but himself, Brody performs with his agonized face, his terrified eyes. The news on the car radio gives reason to believe he and his companions may have been involved in a deadly bank robbery. The vast expanse of forest on all sides doesn't bode well for a rescue; in any event, with leg broken, he crawls from the wreckage and stumbles in circles around a wilderness that comes to resemble the leafy district of hell.
The resolution of Wrecked probably isn't as intriguing as the journey, but getting there is a compelling trip.
