We start with a shock in the opening moments of A Safe Distance (2026), as a tranquil forest setting erupts with a gunshot – and the film then obliquely reveals a body. Two women silently depart the scene, clean themselves up and then hitch their way out of there, finding their way to the nearest bus station. Finally, they talk – at least a little. They’re heading to Winnipeg; they’ve done it; they’re free. The substance of this victorious moment, and how we get to this point, is the subject of the rest of the film.
We then seem to move back in time, meeting thirtysomething couple Joey (Chris McNally and Alex (Bethany Brown), the latter of whom we have already briefly met. As they drive, they discuss a spate of recent bank robberies in the area, the freedom it would bring and so on – all pipe dreams of course, a mere distraction as they make their way to the start of an anniversary hike and camping trip in the woods.
This isn’t really Alex’s thing, but that’s seemingly of little note to Joey. It probably isn’t really his thing, either, though he does have some limited camping experience and a bit of macho bluster to carry him through. As such, he convinces Alex to accompany him on a hike up a nearby mountain, to enjoy the beautiful view it affords. She’s reluctant, but dutifully follows along. It turns out that this is all part of Joey’s plans to propose to her, but at the big moment, Alex hesitates, long enough to make it clear that the answer isn’t an unqualified ‘yes’, and Joey’s feelings are hurt. By the following morning, he has made the decision (and apparently this is a thing) to abandon her out there. She wakes up alone, with no means of navigating and no food and drink. Happy anniversary!
Lost and soon injured, too, Alex is fortunate enough to encounter two other campers, Kianna (Tandia Mercedes) and Matt (Cody Kearsley), who assist her – though there are some significant looks being exchanged between them, and a sense that Alex may have stumbled onto something. Still, she sticks with them. As time ticks on, however, Alex finds herself becoming way too inveigled in Kianna and Matt’s business, and then – as she becomes more intimate with Kianna – implicated in it.
I have commented on this in a number of reviews of films which use the same sort of ‘90% along then loop back’ framework, as it’s a popular device amongst filmmakers, particularly in thrillers and horrors. It allows for a punchy cold open, as here, but it’s still arguably both a temptation and a risk. Having revealed something very significant, the film is then under pressure to link back up with this in a meaningful way, though at least some of its tension and surprise has usually been sacrificed to do it. That pressure is increased here by various clues, readily offered up by the film from the very beginning (and used several times throughout). It leaves a tough sell for director Gloria Mercer – who has previously directed a short film by the same title, containing similar plot points.
However, she chooses to concentrate her efforts on key aspects of the relationship-building here, and even with the inclusion of a couple of slightly clunkier plot points, it works: both Brown and Mercedes are great in their roles. Some of the gender politics in the script feel overwritten, though perhaps there’s a kind of rough justice in rendering the male characters into stereotypes as a means of progressing the plot, but A Safe Distance by and large looks great, with a good balance between remote wilderness and intimate spaces, with just the right amount of impetus and interest to keep things going.
You always know that more is coming here, and the sense of two women finding far more solace in one another than in their partners works well. There’s a spark there. All told, A Safe Distance is doing a lot of things well, and if the element of surprise is (mostly) in short supply, then what we do have is a decent sense of isolation, characterisation and redemption in a neat crime thriller.
A Safe Distance received its Canadian premiere on 30th July at the Fantasia International Film Festival. For more information, please click here.