Margaret (Rebecca Hall) has her life exactly as she wants it. A successful career, a single mother of a seventeen year old daughter Abbie (Grace Kaufman) and a friend with benefits (Michael Esper) that she keeps at arms length. Everything is as it should be. That is until she sees a man from her past at a conference and everything unravels. 

The man in question is David (Tim Roth). Someone from her past who triggers memories of abuse that send Margaret into a spiral. To enter into too much discussion about what exactly David was to her or what fears he provokes would be ruining the discovery for you. What I will say though is the measure with which Tim Roth delivers his character is chilling and feels very rooted in reality.

What makes this film so utterly enthralling though is Rebecca Hall’s performance. The physical and mental changes in her demeanour as the film progresses are phenomenal. Opening as a confident woman who strides through her surroundings, coaches interns in her office, says hello to everyone and seems in constant control she gradually slides into ruin. Becoming physically withdrawn, bedraggled and reverting inwards her appearance by the end of the film is unrecognisable as the woman we see at the beginning. There is also a monologue slotted into the middle where the camera holds on Margaret’s face as she recounts her story. You will feel every word. 

The themes revolve around psychological abuse and control between David, Margaret and Abbie whilst the ending is as gruesome as it is ambiguous and open. 

A fascinating thriller.