Jude Law plays Will, an architect who lives with Liv (Robin Wright Penn), a documentarian and her behaviorally challenged daughter. After a series of break-ins at his office, Will begins staking it out in order to find the culprit. This puts an extra strain on his already tenuous relationship with Liv. One night, he sees a young man breaking in. He shouts to him, and when the kid runs away, Will pursues him.
Will follows the kid, Miro, to his apartment in a rundown area. At once he becomes entranced by Miro's mother Amira, an refugee from Serbia who works as a seamstress. Will invents reasons to keep coming back to see Amira. They soon begin an affair. He out of lust, boredom and a lack of intimacy at home. Amira has ulterior motives. She believes if she keeps sleeping with Will he won't turn in Miro.
As Will grows closer to Amira, he begins to pull away from Liv. The tension and uneasiness grow until the spacious rooms of their posh townhouse are full of all the things they can't seem to say to each other.
Anthony Minghella uses this setup to explore the issues of trust, love and honesty in the intertwining relationships of these characters. As always, he proves himself to be an intelligent and insightful writer. His story and characters are authentic and every emotion is real. He is also an outstanding director. He has an excellent sense of pace, tone, and the composition.
The entire cast is fantastic. Jude Law gives his most mature and honest performance to date. Juliette Binoche's accent is superb and she finds the soul of Amira. Robin Wright Penn excels at playing emotionally distant women and she is able to communicate all of Liv's submerged emotions with small gestures or looks. Rafi Gavron, who plays Miro, despite this being his debut, holds his own among these seasoned pros.
Benoit Delhomme's muted grey-tinged cinematography is drastically different than his golden sun burnished work in The Proposition, but no less beautiful. Walter Murch's editing is near flawless. Gabriel Yared has collaborated with Karl Hyde and Rick Smith to create a score that is rich and modern.
Will follows the kid, Miro, to his apartment in a rundown area. At once he becomes entranced by Miro's mother Amira, an refugee from Serbia who works as a seamstress. Will invents reasons to keep coming back to see Amira. They soon begin an affair. He out of lust, boredom and a lack of intimacy at home. Amira has ulterior motives. She believes if she keeps sleeping with Will he won't turn in Miro.
As Will grows closer to Amira, he begins to pull away from Liv. The tension and uneasiness grow until the spacious rooms of their posh townhouse are full of all the things they can't seem to say to each other.
Anthony Minghella uses this setup to explore the issues of trust, love and honesty in the intertwining relationships of these characters. As always, he proves himself to be an intelligent and insightful writer. His story and characters are authentic and every emotion is real. He is also an outstanding director. He has an excellent sense of pace, tone, and the composition.
The entire cast is fantastic. Jude Law gives his most mature and honest performance to date. Juliette Binoche's accent is superb and she finds the soul of Amira. Robin Wright Penn excels at playing emotionally distant women and she is able to communicate all of Liv's submerged emotions with small gestures or looks. Rafi Gavron, who plays Miro, despite this being his debut, holds his own among these seasoned pros.
Benoit Delhomme's muted grey-tinged cinematography is drastically different than his golden sun burnished work in The Proposition, but no less beautiful. Walter Murch's editing is near flawless. Gabriel Yared has collaborated with Karl Hyde and Rick Smith to create a score that is rich and modern.