Por un hijo

Movies are best consumed without expectations but sometimes a warning is needed. The hyper-realistic French film Custody (2018) is less about child custody than it is a vehicle for depicting the most pulse-racing domestic terrorism you are likely to see in a long while. It is visceral and raw, as is the fact that one French woman is killed every three days by a partner. This film suggests why.

The opening scenes are clinically documentary in style. A magistrate takes submissions from lawyers for estranged couple Antoine (Denis Ménochet) and Miriam (Léa Drucker) over custody of their 12-year old son Julien (Thomas Gioria). It is impossible for us to gauge the merits of either litigant and easy to empathise with both. On the available evidence, the magistrate takes a routine middle path and awards custody, an outcome that will imperil mother and child.

If it were possible to plot the tension curve of this film, it would start just off the floor and work its way through the roof in its final seconds. Initially Antoine behaves like an aggrieved husband who loves his son. Step by step, we see him using custody rights to manipulate Julien into revealing information about his mother. The legally necessary contact between the slightly built Miriam and the towering hulk Antoine become increasingly ominous. His overbearing silence in key scenes drips with menace as she knows his capacity for violence and the law is no help.

This film stands out for the grounded way it depicts the escalation of threat. It keeps actual physical domestic violence out of the picture, and instead shows the psychological pressures of trying to separate from a violent man. The acting performances are extraordinary. Ménochet only has to raise an eyebrow and tensions rise, while Drucker is a portrait of frozen fear. The standout performance comes from young Gioria whose astonishing authenticity belies his tender years. The cinematography powers the narrative and shapes the claustrophobic atmosphere in which a mother and child are being given progressively less space to breathe. Many scenes are prolonged in length to create real-time voids into which is poured unimaginable suspense.

Be warned: this is not entertainment. It is more like stepping into the shoes of a defenceless mother and child who must fend for themselves against a raging beast. The indescribably frightening final scenes re-define the concept of 'toxic masculinity' and make you wonder about today's role models of manhood. Director: Xavier Legrand Stars: Denis Ménochet, Léa Drucker, Thomas Gioria

Riveting directing by debuting Xavier Legrand and stellar acting by both actors playing parents (Léa Drucker and Denis Ménochet), and most importantly by the young actor Thomas Gloria. It's been a while since a decent movie by brothers Dardennes, here you'll their style and even more. Real and touching in every scene until the final credits. Precise use of close ups translating the real emotional power of the characters and accurately composed scenes provide a great experience of social drama on screen.

When a couple divorce, during the hearing the judge allows visitation rights to the father (Denis Ménochet) to their 11 year-old son, Julien (Thomas Gioria) at weekends. In the following weeks, the boy is relucatant to be with his father and is wary of him, as his mother (Léa Drucker). In time the situation deteriorates further with any trust eroding.

A slow burner of a drama that leads to an intense and dramatic end with some simmering performances, especially from Ménochet. The camera keeps up close and intimately with the characters, adding to its intensity. The opening, lengthy hearing scene is smart as it gives the legal analysis, but not the emotional one while the emotional one unfolds as the film develops.

DOMESTIC TERRORISM, BUT YOU CAN'T LOOK AWAY.

You start with a custody battle and both sides have a different view on how things happened. What really went on, you'll never know but throughout the movie you start to unravel the reasons behind everything. And some questions do get answered. Others don't. But in the end, it ENDS!

This film has no score throughout and that was a perfect choice, since it relies on sound and dialogue a lot. Camerawork is stunning, especially a scene where the father chases the son out of the car into a little park in between apartment buildings.

The best acting comes from Denis Ménochet who plays the father (Antoine) and the young actor Thomas Gioria who plays the son (Julien), especially their interactions in the car are pure GOLD. The tension throughout this film is nerve wracking and you can tell anyone can snap at anytime, you're just waiting for it to happen and you're worried for anyone that's standing too close to be affected by the impact.

Director Xavier Legrand won the Silver Lion at Venice Film Festival in 2017 for directing this film.

I attended a matinee session and everyone was quiet throughout the entire film, until one particular scene. That's when I gasped as well and I noticed fellow moviegoers with their hand on their mouth in shock.

"Jusqu'à la garde" (Custody) is so intense it's too much to bear in the best possible way.

This film will make you uncomfortable in its realism, the scenes with the son and his father have to be seen to understand how outstanding and " life like " their performances are. It is tense and will keep you on the edge of your seat and yet it is no piece of fiction per se but a story taken from real life and rendered in a disturbing and touching way. A good example of the film maker's art with no gimmicks, a real story believably told. Watch it and see.