Review: 'The Swerve' is a Riveting Cinematic Experience

While the new indie movie "The Swerve" is certainly one of the most depressing movies of the year, it is entirely watchable because of an Oscar-worthy performance by character actor Azura Skye.

Holly (Skye) is a high-school teacher who has clearly been an emotional punching bag for years. Her husband Rob (Bryce Pinkham) is completely clueless about just how much his wife is suffering with depression, her two teenage boys (Taen Phillips and Liam Seib) treat her like crap, her mother (Deborah Hedwall) is dismissive and oblivious, and her sister Claudia (Ashley Bell) has so many issues of her own that she can't be bothered with anyone but herself.

"The Swerve" takes place during one week of Holly's disheartening life, as the terrible people around her treat her poorly and fail to see how much help she needs. The only person that seems to care is her student, Paul (Zach Rand), who develops an unhealthy attachment that she allows to go too far.

But who can blame her? With everyone around her acting as if she's the most inconvenient person on earth, he's the one person that sees her – both her physical beauty and her inner pain.

When a tragic incident occurs, the result shifts her psyche into more dangerous territory and her depression and poor decision-making skills increase.

The real tragedy here is how one person can be so invisible to the people she loves, and that should love her in return, that she begins the process of disappearing forever. It begs the question of how much of her psychological state of mind is a medical condition, and how much stems from what she's had to endure. All this makes for a fascinating character study.

The real find here is Skye. You literally can't take your eyes off of her. While we haven't seen as many releases as we have in years past, I suspect Jessie Buckley will be getting a lot of notice for "I'm Thinking of Ending Things," I truly believe this is the performance to beat.

With just a flick of her eyes or a twitch of her mouth, you can feel her pain bleed into you as she struggles to go about her day. Every bit of sadness and anger is justified, but it's how she handles that sadness and anger that is the problem. And as a result, Skye's performance stuns with a ferocious truth.

Writer/Director Dean Kapsalis's first feature is quite an achievement. I say this because, while the film itself is truly a downbeat affair, there is something so urgently captivating about it that you can't look away. While not all of us can relate to Holly's specific situation, there are aspects of it that feel familiar and moments that will strike a tenuous chord enough to make you care about Holly even when she makes decisions that you know aren't going to help her.

"The Swerve" is a marvelous dance of heartbreaking characters and miserable situations that somehow makes you feel just as angry and frustrated as Holly. We ache for her to feel peace. And that – along with Skye's breathtaking performance – keeps us riveted to the screen.