A different way of telling a story

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

Slow paced and disconnected in parts. Poor sound on prison scenes was quite annoying.

They could have done something better with the subject, but instead, they made a very predictable film. I had the feeling that something was missing through the whole film. It's one of those that you easily forget, there is nothing memorable. Probably the only good things were the performance by Nick Nolte and Rosamund Pike.

And the Oscar for the worst sound recording/editing goes to... this incomprehensible mess.Why the distorted whispering that is completely unintelligible? Why didn't they re-process or re-shoot the scenes in the jail when they are mumbling in whispers on the telephones? Does the director actually think people can understand what they are saying? It's not like we viewers have a script to follow. This film needs subtitles in 70% of the scenes.As for the plot, well, if only Ms. Pike had shown a bit more flesh it might have been worth watching, but as it is, it is a complete waste of time.Sorry Ms Pike, you were wasted on this.

Fouad Mikati directs and Patricia Beauchamp and Joe Gossett write this slow burn drama that sadly never resorts to anything of note. It stars Rosamund Pike, Shiloh Fernandez and Nick Nolte. Music is by Daniel Hart and cinematography by Russell Carpenter.A small town nurse is raped and takes the decision to befriend the rapist while he's in prison. Is it a way of exorcising her demons? Or something sinister?You can see and feel that there's a real good film here trying to get out, a meditation on a number of things that only victims of heinous crimes can truly understand. There's interesting observations on sociopathy, fractured family values and loneliness, but in spite of the sterling efforts of Pike to make it work, it's constructed so poorly, too often wearisome, and it cheats by not paying off on the slow- burn approach. The final revelation only makes you realise that it has taken an hour and half of film to achieve what American Mary did in 20 minutes! Add in that Nolte is utterly wasted and that Fernandez simply isn't strong enough for the role (he's the guy that isn't Joaquin Phoenix), and you got one messy movie that's best avoided. 5/10