Deftly sidestepping both melodrama and family-values messaging, Poppe imbues the film with enormous emotional resonance, brilliantly grounded by his leading lady.
The film has limitations. But it has Binoche, and that’s almost enough.
58
The PlaylistJessica Kiang
The PlaylistJessica Kiang
A film that, while often beautiful to look at, feels oddly bloodless in execution.
50
Village VoiceDanny King
Village VoiceDanny King
Poppe's closeness to the material ensures a level of passion, but he still fails to create a truly specific dynamic for Rebecca and Marcus's family, settling instead for a catch-all representation of the difficulties of maintaining a healthy home life while working in a dangerous profession.
Binoche's performance – tiresomely radiating a martyred integrity – is mannered and self-conscious, and her character's professional work is naively imagined.