Freeway

The directorial debut for Guncrazy screenwriter Matthew Bright, this enthusiastically grotesque exploitation flick turns out to be Little Red Riding Hood transposed to '90s California. In her most engaging performance to date, Witherspoon is a polite, affectionate, shit-kicking teen stuck with a fuck-up mom, an abusive stepdad, and all the bad luck in the world. Fleeing welfare officers for Grandma's house, she breaks down on the freeway, and gets a lift from a concerned psychologist - Sutherland - who isn't all he appears to be. There's not much edification in store, and Bright cruises over some bumpy plot holes, but the teen's perspective does put a black comic spotlight on wider social hypocrisies. Danny Elfman contributes a rusty, rollicking carnival-esque theme tune.