Acting in French clearly brings out the best in Kristin Scott Thomas - just watch her subtle, moving performance as an ex-convict seeking rehabilitation in I’ve Loved You So Long for evidence.
Psychological thriller In Your Hands finds her in typically excellent form, but the film itself, a claustrophobic two-hander, doesn’t do her justice.
Written and directed by Lola Doillon (daughter of veteran director Jacques Doillon), the film begins with the puzzling sight of Scott Thomas’s character, dressed in an overlarge men’s t-shirt, emerging edgily from a suburban house and running down the street.
What has led her to this strange dash? The answer emerges slowly, mostly in flashback, during which we discover that the solitary world of childless doctor Anna Cooper, an obstetrics surgeon at a Paris hospital, has unexpectedly collided with that of another brittle loner, angry, aggrieved Yann (Pio Marmaï).
Taking up most of the film’s running time, the scenes between the pair gradually explain their connection, but Doillon’s script fails to make the relationship that emerges credible. The acting, though, is raw and intense throughout.
On release in key cities from Friday 20th July.
"I've Loved You So Long - Kristin Scott Thomas's convict comes up from the depths of despair"
