(Film viewed as part of the Chicago International Film Festival)

“Rounding” is a psychological thriller that slow-burns its way through the emotional and physical unraveling of a medical resident wrestling with PTSD and trauma. Visually, the film offers plenty of bleak, dim shots. Sonically, we get an awful lot of quiet talking.

The movie’s opening moment finds resident James Hayman (Namir Smallwood) participating in an assisted suicide that takes a turn. Those events lead to Hayman passing out, as we’re left to sit and stew with our own ethics and morality.

What comes next in “Rounding” is never as memorable or impactful as those first few minutes. The real draw here is Smallwood’s nuanced, fallible performance.

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