Thomas Bardo has a real shitty day: he gets kicked out of his shabby apartment because he is behind with the rent. His highly expected job interview falls on the face because he’s not in the registration computer. He gets kicked out of the park where he wants to sleep on a bench by an indifferent policeman. He gets run over by nurse Brandi who is on the phone in her car while being on some drug cocktail. She has a mixed day: her boss tells her she can expect a promotion, but then again she cannot afford to be late because of this stupid accident. And she finds her boyfriend shagging another girl while she is supposed to be on duty. Thomas is trying to wriggle free, Brandi is completely annoyed by him disturbing her day and life. She hopes he will go or fade away, and when he doesn’t, she sets things in motion to make him.
A weird little film this is. The opening title’s “based on a true story” does not mean a thing, because the scriptwriters allow the situation to escalate into any conceivable direction. Brandi’s boyfriend as the super-cool dealer and fixer, who always has a solution or at least some happy-pill, crumbles when being forced to get rid of this thing in the windshield. Stephen Rea’s Thomas is utterly startled by the absurdity of events happening to him, most baffled when Bradi shouts at him “Why are you doing this to me?”. This, together with Gordon’s taste for very realistic injury depiction and lengthy elaboration on the topic of pain and blood-loss makes “Stuck” a pleasant little bastard film for everybody who enjoys a bit of gore and can stand it. Nasty little dogs who start chewing on open bone fractures, lengthy efforts to get the windscreen wiper out from the diaphragm, things that get stuck in the eye … you get the picture. The showdown brings proper catharsis, so surprisingly you can leave the theatre with a happy whistle on your lips – while watching twice before crossing the road.
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