‘Humane’ Review: Caitlin Cronenberg’s directorial debut is a sharp but light thriller about a wealthy family forced to sacrifice one of their own

A thriller set in an impending future where food scarcity has forced every country on Earth to reduce its population by 20 percent. Caitlin Cronenberg’s slender but steely-eyed “Humane” takes a hard look – or at least an unflinching look – at the irreconcilable relationship between self-interest and saving the planet. The broadly representative premise that screenwriter Michael Sparaga uses to explore that dynamic: a family dinner at the castle-like estate of a former news anchor (Peter Gallagher), which is already tense before the wealthy retiree tells his four adult children that he and his most recent female (Uni Park as Dawn) volunteered to be euthanized later that same evening.

This news surprises Charles’ children, because their family does not need the $250,000 payout that the government offers “heroic” (aka poor) people who agree to sacrifice themselves for the greater good, but don’t have enough time to do so to have. ..