Ah suburbia, one of the favourite whipping boys for creative types. Combining expert opinion on the topic with the lives of the Moss family, who are new additions to one such neighbourhood, is Radiant City – the latest slice of culture to step up and take its shot. Instead of a potentially dry audiovisual essay, it dishes up a strong argument delivered in a dramatic style.
Expert talking heads weighing in on the subject come from a wide range of disciplines, providing a broad base from which the film can launch its hypothesis of suburban sprawl as a destructive process. Meanwhile, the lives of the Moss family seem to crystallise the ideas being discussed and are observed with a wry humour. Between the Moss family, the experts and images that succinctly capture the numbingly artificial environment, it’s hard not to agree with the film’s viewpoint.
There is a twist at the end that will likely divide audience members, to say more would be telling, but it colours your perception of everything that has come before it. Either way, what happens prior is still a worthy critique of a relevant issue and the film deserves a bigger audience than it will likely get.
