Tabloid fodder.

This Halloween I treated myself to a bunch of horror films, one of which was Stuck (2007), the latest film by Stuart Gordon. It’s a movie that would fit nicely on last Friday’s “Lucky 13″ list under “car problems.” The film is loosely based on the real-life incident of a 27-year-old woman in Texas who accidentally ran her car into a 37-year-old homeless man that got imbedded in her windshield. Even though the victim was still alive, she did not stop or call 911 but, rather, she drove home and parked the car in the garage, and there went about some shady business… and waited. Grim stuff, to be sure, but Gordon takes liberties with the story that introduce dark humor and also touches on a surprising number of social issues. (Spoilers ahead.)

Mena Suvari realizes she's about to run out of windshield wiper fluid.

What really happened? A comprehensive and concise summary of events was provided on twitchfilm.net in a post that also has an interview with Stuart Gordon (the link with full interview is posted below the excerpt).

On October 26, 2001, Chante Jawan Mallard who was intoxicated behind the wheel of her car hit a homeless man, Gregory Biggs. Instead of getting Mr. Biggs help, she panicked and drove home with him stuck in her windshield. Two days pass and Mr. Biggs has still been left in her garage, still stuck in her car. Miss Mallard then seeks the help of male friend, Clete Jackson, who disposes of Mr. Biggs at a park. Four months pass with the coast clear for Miss Mallard. At this point for reasons unknown, she mentions this episode at a party to Maranda Daniel.  Not only does she tell Maranada about the episode she also says she plans to destroy the car and make an insurance claim. Maranda immediately tells the Fort Worth Police, who put together enough evidence and testimony that results in Miss Mallard being busted for 50 years in prison for killing Gregory Biggs.

The case drew national headlines, not only because of the audacity of Miss Mallard to leave a dying man she hit stuck in her windshield, but also because of the fact she was a nurses aide at a retirement home. Perhaps she wanted to be promoted or pretend it didn’t happen. Regardless, it was a modern day horror story come to life, that shook the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

http://twitchfilm.net/site/view/stuckinterview-with-stuart-gordon-mena-suvari-and-john-strysik/

The story got a lot of media attention and was even referenced in a Law & Order episode. If you type Chante Mallard’s name into Wikepedia you’ll find an even longer list of shockingly abberant behavior that was engaged in while Biggs slowly died.  A CNN link regarding the aftermath can be found here:

http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/06/26/windshield.death/

Rea prepares to dive into his "Shakespeare in a windshield performance."

The film:

Gordon casts Mena Suvari (who played Edie in Six Feet Under) as Brandi Boski, the reckless driver. Stephen Rea (a prolific actor that came to the attention of U.S. audiences with The Crying Game) does a surprisingly good job as Thomas Bardo, in a part that is largely free of dialogue. Scriptwriter John Strysik refers to Rea as “one of the greatest dialogue actors in the world,” and was obviously amused that he here had few lines, of which “most of his lines were, ‘Help me, help me!’” My other favorite tidbit about Rea, from the interview already referenced, came from Stuart Gordon, who said “(Rea) said to me when we were shooting – “The real guy was in the windshield for three days and I’ve been in it for three weeks!”

One of the things that immediately caught my attention about Stuck was in the broader dimensions given to its players. Boski’s character takes a turn for the worse, clearly, but she starts out as a sympathetic figure who is good at taking care of elderly patients. One of her downfalls, however, comes in the guise of a promotion that is being dangled in front of her and that requires her to work through the weekend. Bardo, on the other hand, has no promotions in sight. Quite the opposite, he loses everything, and on the way down everyone keeps telling him he has choices to make but, really, he doesn’t. The only help he gets is from another homeless man who shares his drink and even gives him his shopping cart (interesting to note that those “with something” give nothing, while this man “with nothing” gives everything).

And then there’s the issue of those who find themselves in a position to abet Boski’s bad behavior or help Bardo once his mangled body is slowly bleeding to death in the garage. In the latter camp is one of Boski’s neighbors, a latino child who finds Bardo and runs to tell his mother – both of whom then implore the father/husband to do something. But the head of the household commands them to mind their own business because, as undocumented illegals, they’d be deported. Even a 911 operator ends up being of little assistance (fans of Gordon’s The Re-Animator might even recognize the voice: Jeffrey Combs).

So, yes, while everyone certainly has choices to make, these choices all come at such a cost that everyone is, in fact, stuck. Stuck in a bad situation that is only made worse in a world where, as Gordon says in his interview, “People are very selfish and afraid.” Gordon’s film deviates wildly from the original story by providing an end that ultimately repudiates such a reality. Stuck gives Bardo hope instead of death, and it also shows Boski’s neighbors finally coming out to the aid of Bardo – with the child taking the lead.

The bleak source material is illustrative of human behavior at its worst. Gordon’s hopeful revisionism sends a different message, one of humanity triumphing over selfish behavior – even if only by the slimmest of margins and coming from those most disenfranchised by a society that, in pursuing the almighty dollar, lost its soul in the bargain.