Gentle Monster Showcase

We may think we know our loved ones’ deepest impulses, but how well can you ever know the dark parts of someone’s mind? That’s the experience of Lucy (Lea Seydoux), a pianist and mother to a young son, who agrees to move to the country when her husband Philip (Laurence Rupp) complains that he’s burnt out. Burnt out, yes, but also immersed in a secret online life that’s both haunting and criminal. When Philip is arrested for dealing in child exploitation materials, it’s more than Lucy can fathom. Meanwhile, the lead investigator in the case, Elsa (Jella Hasse), is struggling with revelations of her own about her elderly father.

Austrian filmmaker Marie Kreutzer (Corsage) squares up to this challenging material with palpable conviction, and has found the perfect collaborator in the remarkable Seydoux, who gives us a finely etched portrait of a woman whose life is crumbling before her eyes. Somehow, Lucy must find the courage to face up to the truth — not only about Philip, but also about herself.