سيرة
Dan Rosen wrote, co-produced, and acted as Deputy Hartford in The Last Supper (1996), a dark comedy that critiques faux-liberalism but lacks sufficient intensity. His directorial debut, The Curve (1998), also known as Dead Man's Curve, was filmed in his home state of Maryland and more powerfully explores the human capacity to rationalize extreme, even deadly, cruelty. Upon discovering their college’s policy of awarding straight "A" grades to students whose roommates commit suicide, two students plot to murder a friend to secure the grades needed for Harvard admission, though things quickly become complicated. Outshining the similarly themed Dead Man on Campus (1998), the film sparked a bidding war at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival but later encountered distribution challenges. Despite its modest $750,000 budget and a tight 22-day shooting schedule, occasionally evident in the contrast between several polished sequences and the more straightforward camera work dominating the film, it compensates with sharp dialogue, clever intercutting, associative editing, and delightfully exaggerated compositions. This story of teenage cruelty delivers biting humor, accurate pop culture references, and features Matthew Lillard’s signature exaggerated acting. Supporting characters are well-developed, especially a college counselor struggling to quit smoking, while the film gently satirizes immigration policies, victim culture, corporate greed, and the link between qualifications and employability.
