by MATTHEW HAYS

In Alexandra's Project, Gary Sweet and Helen Buday play a married couple who seem to have a perfect suburban existence. Cute kids, nice house, breadwinning hubby. But when Sweet heads home from the office one day, buoyed by the good news of his promotion and raise, he finds something sinister awaiting him.

Instead of warm family wishes, Sweet finds his house is empty. What's more, when he enters, the doors lock automatically and he's trapped inside. A note invites him to pop a tape into the VCR where his wife and kids have left birthday greetings. His loving wife, as it turns out, isn't quite so loving. Instead, she has the kids say happy birthday and then shoos them from the room, announcing that she's taking them and leaving him.

But the fun doesn't stop there! Instead, Buday (in what is a viciously brilliant performance) begins to unravel, recounting a litany of marital grievances, both small and profound. Powerless, a frustrated and emasculated Sweet can do nothing but brew as Buday crushes his ego and informs him that he's a certifiable dirtbag - now sans wife and kids.

How does this scenario fill a feature? To reveal the various twists in this potboiler would be foolish and unfair. Suffice it to say, this could have made an intriguing short film, but doesn't feel stretched even at 103 minutes. Sweet's predicament is horrid enough, and the film's setup is so unique it kept me intrigued.

Alexandra's Project is one of those twisted, nasty little gems that makes you thank God that Australians make movies. The film premiered at the World Film Festival in August, and there were walkouts and gasps elicited by the writer-director Rolf de Heer's rather dire universe. One Toronto critic made the not-so-smart observation that this film is humourless; indeed, no one slips on a banana peel, but I would argue the entire thing is a wicked, unapologetically black comedy. The very best kind.

Alexandra's Project opens Friday, Dec. 19

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