Custody

Myriam (Drucker) has recently left husband Antoine (Ménochet). She doesn’t want her youngest, Julien (Gioria), to see a father she claims is violent. But the judge rules otherwise, and the boy becomes a pawn in a bitter parental conflict…

Legrand confirms the promise of his Oscar-nominated short with one of the most impressive feature debuts of recent years. From the first scene, his all-round expertise is immediately apparent in the astute dialogue, the meticulous framing, cutting and pacing, the expressive use of sound, and the superb performances of a uniformly excellent cast. Psychological precision and the skilful building of suspense are foremost among the film’s many virtues, while Legrand makes eloquent use of ambiguity throughout, so that the characters – all prone to contradictory impulses while trying to do their best – remain sympathetic and utterly human, however badly they sometimes behave. Frighteningly credible and, we should remember, all too relevant.