Triangle turns recognition into a source of unease. Melissa George gives the construction an emotional centre, although the film is more persuasive in its immediate tension than in every piece of its machinery.
Spoiler-free review.
Triangle makes recognising something feel less reassuring than it should. A familiar detail can create another question instead of settling the situation. Christopher Smith uses that uncertainty well. The film is most involving when the viewer and the central character are both trying to decide which pieces of information deserve to be trusted.
Melissa George gives the story more emotional continuity than its complicated construction could provide on its own. She makes urgency easy to read even when the larger picture is difficult to arrange. That gives the viewer a reason to follow the immediate problem. The film needs that anchor, and she supplies it.
The restricted setting helps the tension. There are only so many places to look for reassurance, and the film makes that limitation useful. The dialogue is generally more effective when it serves an immediate decision than when it carries an explanation. I liked the effort to make the puzzle something the characters have to endure.
The machinery does become visible, and a few emphatic moments push for a response the atmosphere has already earned. I was not equally convinced by every connection. Still, the film commits to its uneasy idea and gives it a strong central performance. It is worth approaching with as little detail about the construction as possible.
2009 · English. Film details · Film details
Triangle turns recognition into a source of unease. Melissa George gives the construction an emotional centre, although the film is more persuasive in its immediate tension than in every piece of its machinery.
— Desly