Dir: Catherine Corsini - France 2009 - 90 mins
Kristin Scott Thomas stars as Suzanne, married for twenty years to physician Samuel (Yvan Attal) and mother of two grown children. When Spanish handyman Ivan (Sergi Lopez) arrives to build an office for her it is only a matter of time before we slip into a predictable Lady Chatterley scenario. Less predictable is the way in which Suzanne seizes the chance to create a new life for herself and the manner in which the influential Samuel vents his fury by freezing bank accounts, blocking employment opportunities and doing everything in his power to attack their happiness. Catherine Corsini is comfortable in classic Claude Chabrol territory, delving beneath the calm surface of bourgeois life to uncover the dangerous currents that lurk beneath. There is an unfussy elegance to Corsini�s direction as she builds a steady intensity through a succession of brief sequences and strong performances. Kristin Scott Thomas was born to suffer on screen but there is a steeliness beneath her anguished features that conveys some of the fire in a woman who has finally found the moment to regain control of her life, whatever the price she might have to pay. We seem to be witnessing her in her prime as French cinema offers her the kind of demanding roles she was born to play.