Mad props to writer/director Romola Garai for this one. It takes all the pieces it puts in place, all the things you think you know, the things going on that you think you understand, the things you expect to happen, and then plays 52-card pickup with them.
This is one of those where you’re not going to be certain what’s happening at first. You’re going to feel lost, early on. Stick with it. It all starts to make sense soon enough. And the eventual payoff, it’s well worth it. And it won’t be what you’re expecting. Seriously, don’t google it. It will be so much more satisfying, or disturbing, or both, if you don’t know where you’re being taken until you get there. Just trust that the driver—in this case, Ms. Romola Garai—knows what she’s doing. (She does. Trust me on that.) Atmospheric, slow but never plodding, visually engaging in its starkness, and boasting quality acting from all the principal players, this one is guided into port by her deft hand. It may make you squirm, but it’ll do it the right way. You’ll squirm because you’re *supposed* to. Oh, and lead actor Alec Secareanu? He’s Romanian, has the right look, and has some serious acting chops. Somebody tell Karyn Kusama, who is helming that new Dracula movie for Blumhouse, that I’ve found her leading man!
