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film review

Diego Klattenhoff in Radius.The Globe and Mail

It all starts with an idea. And Radius, the second feature from the Quebec filmmaking team of Caroline Labrèche and Steeve Léonard, has a killer one. Literally. The movie follows a man (Diego Klattenhoff) who awakes from a car accident, suffering from amnesia. He immediately seeks help in his unfamiliar rural surroundings, but everyone he comes in contact with immediately drops dead, right before his eyes. That is until a woman (Charlotte Sullivan) stumbles along, also suffering memory-loss and who is somehow able to withstand the guy's deadly, ahem, radius. It's a nifty Twilight Zone-esque hook for a genre film, but Labrèche and Léonard don't quite get to stretch it as far as they might like. There's not half as much tension or world-building as is necessary to carry the twist into feature-length format, and Klattenhoff and Sullivan don't get to project more than constant confusion. Still, the filmmakers make excellent use of the Manitoba shooting location (perfect for an eerie mood of societal isolation) and the story's key theme – can we be responsible for things that are out of our control? – is a compelling one. Unlike its lead characters, you can safely, if not eagerly, approach Radius without fear of dying.

British actor Gary Oldman talks about taking on the role of the iconic British wartime leader Winston Churchill.

Reuters

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