Custody * * * *
As the title suggests this is a drama about a child custody agreement. We open with the warring couple before a Magistrate who must decide on the agreement. After listening to their testimonies, her reaction is appropriate - "It's hard to figure out which of you is the biggest liar".
And it's hard for us too until the drama unfolds and the true personalities of each of the parents are revealed. Our sentiment quickly begins to shift from objectivity to concern to fear, especially for the young boy who is the center of the custody battle (his elder sister has mercifully just turned eighteen).
The father is played by the imposing Denis Menochet who gives a performance of such disturbing ugliness I simply had to look up how he did it. (There are some great interviews with this otherwise gentle person on You Tube). But even more impressive is the young actor who plays the boy Julien. He is a child actor of extraordinary skill (Thomas Gioria).
It's a disturbing insight into family violence. As I recall it, not a blow is struck, but the constantly building, and ever present sense of physical threat, through to the explosive ending, is so real you actually feel you've seen a beating - and received one!
Not a pretty film, but a damn good one!
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| Looking forward to a weekend with Dad |
The father is played by the imposing Denis Menochet who gives a performance of such disturbing ugliness I simply had to look up how he did it. (There are some great interviews with this otherwise gentle person on You Tube). But even more impressive is the young actor who plays the boy Julien. He is a child actor of extraordinary skill (Thomas Gioria).
It's a disturbing insight into family violence. As I recall it, not a blow is struck, but the constantly building, and ever present sense of physical threat, through to the explosive ending, is so real you actually feel you've seen a beating - and received one!
Not a pretty film, but a damn good one!
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