One of the most astonishing film debuts in recent memory, Xavier Legrand’s heart-stopping drama charts a family’s struggles with the fallout of divorce, and the resulting arrangements for (and impact on) the two children. Miriam (Léa Drucker, The Blue Room) and Antoine (Denis Ménochet, The Returned) have recently separated. While she’s willing to permit their 17-year-old daughter Joséphine (Mathilde Auneveux) to decide living arrangements for
herself, Miriam is desperate to keep her youngest, 12-yearold Julien (Thomas Gioria), away from his father. But the magistrate rules in favour of joint custody, and suddenly the boy is thrown directly into the middle of an escalating parental conflict, where it seems inevitable that sides must
be chosen. Superbly observed and flawlessly acted (the heart-rending
performances of the two children are more than worth the price of admission), Legrand’s precise dissection of this family dynamic masterfully builds into a pulse-pounding thriller. Honest, yet still evoking profound sympathy for all its protagonists, Custody is sure to be remembered as one
of the most important and vital films of 2018. Don’t miss it.
Tuesday 27th February
93 min
M
Film Festival
