Although it is one of only two films Quentin Tarantino said he paid to go to the movies during the pandemic, Confused feels like a film perfect for a great evening on Netflix. It’s a thriller that’s equal parts frightening and silly, with a movie star giving a terrific performance as a rampant murderer, and at just 81 minutes long (before the credits roll), it knows exactly how to not overstay its popularity . Now that it’s actually available on Netflix, it’s the perfect time to watch it.
The film follows Rachel (Caren Pistorius), a young mother going through a divorce, living with her burnout brother and his fiancé, and trying to keep her life together. On a hectic morning (which, we learn, is the norm for Rachel), while she’s trying to get her son to school (late) and is fired from her job (for being late), she gets caught up in a satisfying tantrum in traffic, she honks her horn because the pickup driver in front of her won’t go, even though the light is clearly green. The only problem for Rachel, her son and everyone she’s ever met is that the driver of that truck (Russell Crowe) was on his way back from killing his ex-wife and her new husband and decides to that the rude driver behind him will be his next victim.
The Rachel character is part of ConfusedThe secret sauce is particularly fun. A weaker film might have succumbed to the temptation of making Rachel feel somewhat anonymous, allowing the audience to relate to her, or even making her a perfect angel for the audience to root for as she goes by Crowe’s demon is chased in a pickup truck. But Confused does something smarter than that: it turns Rachel into an absolute mess. She makes so many mistakes in the first 10 minutes, be it through rudeness or carelessness, that it’s no surprise that something terrible has happened. It’s like everyone’s worst habit or day, in a way that you can’t help but get into it and cringe at the same time. All of this over-the-top characterization also provides the perfect justification for Rachel starting to make a series of incredibly bad decisions as she tries to escape her torment, something that few thrillers like this build in from the start. And of course, this all plays perfectly with the fact that everyone watching knows that no mistake or even remotely egotistical rudeness could justify the horror the driver decides to unleash.
But for all the fun to be had in the absolute disaster that is Rachel, Crowe is the real star of the show here. In his hands, driver Tom Cooper is absolutely terrifying, a cross between a relatable character you might shy away from at Home Depot and a slasher villain who would feel at home in Haddonfield. Crowe plays the simmering anger as well as anyone in Hollywood, and his movie star charm is brilliantly on display in this murderer who has decided to make his terrible day everyone’s problem.
However, all of this is certainly to be expected from a mid-career performance from Russell Crowe. What might not be expected is how impressive Crowe can be here. It’s rare that he gets to use his full frame (outside) in a film The nice guyswho exploits this brilliantly), but director Derrick Borte lets Crowe be his massive, menacing self here. When he finally catches up to Rachel and the two get into some sort of scuffle, Crowe effortlessly bounces her off the walls, highlighting the true real-world threats of this film.
And that brings us back to the alchemy that makes Confused Great: It combines these moments of relatability and genuine fear with enough high-speed minivan chases and unexpectedly violent car crashes to shift effortlessly between terror and silliness, making it a perfect film for a weekend at home on Netflix. Just look at it on a day when you haven’t honked at anyone.
Confused is now streaming on Netflix.
