A rent-a-judge kicks off the hearing by staring down the barrel of the camera and asking her clients (and thus the audience) if they know what happens when a child is sent to family mediation services. The litigation continues for a full fifteen expository-fueled minutes, with mom’s barrister painting a portrait of her client’s ex as a walking time bomb, while dad’s counsel shrugs off any and all talk of violent behavior. Writer/director Xavier Legrand then proceeds to spend the remainder of the running time proving the latter wrong. How many hours of television time have already been squandered in the service of this story? At heart, a predictable-to-a-fault knifeless slasher film, that raises the question, “Why would anyone willfully pay to watch a lumbering, ill-tempered bully physically and verbally assault his children and practically anyone else he comes in contact with?” And another: how did this one get past the folks at IFC Midnight? With: Léa Drucker, Thomas Gioria, and Denis Ménochet as the bereaver. (2017) — Scott Marks
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