Laurent Cantet's followup to his prizewinning The Class focuses on a secret society of high-school girls, with faultless performances all round

Adapted from Joyce Carol Oates' teen-empowerment novel, Laurent Cantet's follow up to the Palme d'Or-winner The Class excavates the mindset of another group of awkward, rebellious teenagers, this time in smalltown America in the 1950s. Foxfire is the name given to a secret society of high-school girls determined to fight back against sexual abuse and day-to-day sexism; they are led by the charismatic Legs (Raven Adamson), and include the beefy Goldie (Claire Mazerolle), boy-mad Rita (Madeleine Bisson), and serious-minded Maddy (Katie Coseni), through whose narrative voice we see events proceed. Cantet extracts faultless performances from his cast, most of whom are on a film set for the first time, and evokes the period effortlessly. At well over two hours, Foxfire never feels long; though it unravels...