Murderous

A film that feels like it belongs to another era. With its sharp dialogue, its almost claustrophobic chamber-drama setting, and its meticulously drawn characters, whose multifaceted natures reveal themselves only gradually, Neil LaBute's darkly acerbic psychological thriller harkens back to a cinematic tradition that has long since faded away. LaBute himself cites films such as Joseph L. Mankiewicz's »Sleuth« (1972) and Alfred Hitchcock's suspenseful chamber pieces »Rope« (1948) and »Dial M for Murder« (1954) as inspirations for »Murderous«. These are ambitious points of comparison, yet this understated and psychologically precise thriller holds its own against them. Marian, an up-and-coming screenwriter and director, made a splash with her debut film. Now, however, she is in the midst of a crisis, one that intensifies when Norman, a former fellow student, shows up. He claims that her film is based on ideas of his that she stole. The two become locked in a verbal duel that, beyond navigating the minefield of complex relationships, impressively lays bare how success and failure can warp a person.