Dan Rosen(I)
- Producer
- Writer
- Director
Dan Rosen wrote, co-produced, and appeared (as Deputy Hartford) in The
Last Supper (1996), a black comedy whose pointed critique of
faux-liberalism is not pursued with sufficient vigor. His directorial
debut, The Curve (1998) aka Dead Man's Curve, was shot in his native
Maryland, and was far more effective in pursuing its dark vision of the
human ability to justify outrageous, even murderous, nastiness. Having
learned of their college's policy of giving straight "A" grades to
students whose roommates commit suicide, a couple of students set about
murdering a friend so they can get the grades they need to get into
Harvard, but all is not as it seems. Superior to the similarly themed
Dead Man on Campus (1998) it became the subject of a bidding war at the
1998 Sundance Film Festival but this subsequently led to distribution
problems. Although the low budget of $750,000 and tight shooting
schedule of just twenty two shooting days are occasionally evident in
the contrast between several stylishly shot sequences and the
efficient, rather less slick, camera work which dominates, this is
compensated for by some sharp dialogue, witty inter-cutting, and
associative editing, and some gleefully hammy compositions. A tale of
teen cruelty, it is full of mean laughs, spot on pop references, and
Matthew Lillard's trademark mugging. Minor characters are
entertainingly fleshed out - particularly the college counselor who is
struggling to quit smoking - and some gentle satirical swipes are
essayed at immigration policies, victim culture, big business, and the
nature of qualifications and employability.