Freeway

A girl who cannot read sets out to find her grandmother when her mother and stepfather are arrested. Her car breaks down and a school counsellor picks her up. The film rebuilds Red Riding Hood outright and makes no secret of it. The narrative does not draw her as a victim; she answers back at every stage, and the film sustains that in black comedy. The second half is entirely prison and courtroom. Matthew Bright wrote and directed. Reese Witherspoon and Kiefer Sutherland lead. Oliver Stone is among the producers. A real warning: it contains child abuse, sexual violence and extreme language, all played alongside the comic tone. That combination is uncomfortable for many viewers.