
With no big stars, no flashy elevator pitch, and no provocative title, A Safe Distance might well get overlooked at its world premiere out of the 2026 SXSW film festival. And that would be the world's loss. Written by Aidan West, A Safe Distance is a lean and scintillating thriller that wears its influences — the works of Patricia Highsmith — on its sleeve without apology. The feature directorial debut of Gloria Mercer, this film is slippery, seductive, and smartly titillating.
Like any psychological noir worth the price of salt, A Safe Distance begins in medias res, with a gunshot boom and a spatter of blood across a woman's face. In the woods, she and another woman, also marked with blood, walk quietly to a river and wash away the signs of violence. Who are they? And how did they get here? Where did the blo...

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English (US) ·