Oxygen

Starring: Maura Tierney & Adrien Brody

Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars

I'm often asked why I waste my time watching independant films. It's true, that many of them are a complete waste of time, but what I really enjoy about them is that it gives people the freedom to do what they want, without Hollywood turning it into something it's not, and occasionally, I find a movie like Oxygen. This film was just your ordinary story of the police fighting against the clock and an insane criminal, who gets off on fucking with them. It had a few twists here and there, but in general it was a very basic story, however what I did focus my attention on was the cast. Being that it's an independent film, two performers who I really enjoy watching, got to step away from their usual roles and try something different. Maura Tierney is usually cast as the emotionless girl with a troubled past, but in Oxygen, she's this crazy, self-loathing, tough as nails cop, who wears her emotions on her sleeve. She's opposed by Adrien Brody who usually plays the sweet, good-looking, exotic stranger, but not this time. In this film, Brody is a deranged psychopath who will do anything and everything to get what he wants. The dynamic and chemistry were both fantastic and I loved seeing two actors, that I know very well, step away from their usual roles and work on something different. If I hadn't seen both stars in a ton of things prior to this, I may not have been as entertained by this film, as the story is common, and very little is unpredictable, however the performances were tremendous and Tiereny and Brody compliment each other perfectly.