Straightheads (2007) Director: Dan Reed

This is an interesting little British revenge thriller starring Gillian Anderson as Alice and Danny Dyer as Adam.

Getting off to an improbable start - posh Alice seduces security camera installer Adam - it turns into a brutal film with the horrific rape of Alice and violence against Adam by a group of men after a 'road rage' incident in the countryside. The film then follows Alice and Adam's relationship as their communication and sex life deteriorates. A coincidence brings Alice closer to the man who rapes her and she then plots her revenge.

It's actually a very good film if you can stomach the violence. The final 30 minutes are especially quite tough to handle. Dyer's performance initially is a little stilted but he comes into his own at the end when he dishes out his revenge. Anderson puts a solid performance in throughout.

Rape in film is difficult. Here, it is central to the story. This is after all a revenge flick and Alice has been violated and needs to seek her revenge. What I object to is rape in film as entertainment which we have seen a trend in with 'torture porn' flicks where the females are there to be abused and then killed. It is not used in this way in Straightheads and certainly, if you watch the film, you will see it is not just the female lead who is violated.

This won't be a film for everyone with its brutality but it is very much worth checking out.