Who hasn’t felt that strange curiosity, while driving, to look over at the scene of a car accident? That unsettling urge sits at the heart of Jason Buxton’s second feature, Sharp Corner, which follows Josh (Ben Foster), a suburban father whose life is thrown off balance after a crash happens right in his front yard—caused by the sharp bend leading to his driveway. Haunted by what he saw, Josh’s fixation quickly deepens into obsession, slowly unraveling both his career and his relationships at home.
The film explores how obsession can take root in someone drifting through routine—stuck in a loveless marriage, emotionally numb—until a traumatic event becomes the most thrilling moment they’ve had in years. Thanks to Ben Foster’s performance, we slowly buy into Josh’s descent. He plays him with a quiet, eerie intensity that suggests early on that something isn’t quite right. There’s a great dinner scene where Josh starts describing the accident—it feels oddly staged, like he’s been waiting for someone to ask just the right question so he can finally relive it. Buxton and Foster keep us engaged, but it soon becomes clear the film isn’t really digging deeper. What starts as a compelling look at morbid obsession ends up turning into a more familiar “man loses everything” arc, offering little new insight into its own premise.
The film would’ve been stronger with more scenes from the family’s point of view—especially since the son is incredibly well acted. Josh’s wife, Rachel (Cobie Smulders), is a psychologist, but does surprisingly little to confront what’s happening. Her character, and another psychologist who shows up later, feel frustratingly thin. There are hints that the marriage was already strained—something Smulders subtly conveys—but her shift toward cold detachment comes so fast that it ends up draining the film of what could’ve been its richest emotional thread.
There are also a couple of awkward CGI crash scenes that don’t look great, and the score often feels mismatched with what’s happening on screen. A more effective approach would’ve been using the music to mirror Josh’s unraveling mental state. The film also dips into moments of dark comedy that work in isolation but clash with the overall tone. Thankfully, Foster grounds everything—even if, by the end, it feels like his performance deserved more.
Ultimately, Sharp Corner has a chilling and original setup, and Foster gives a strong performance—but the film stays too close to the surface. As a character study, it’s just not as sharp as it should be.