Tystnaden (1963) / Scarlet Street (1945) / Secret Beyond The Door (1947) / Gone Baby Gone (2007) / Ouvert la nuit (2016) / Horse Girl (2020) / Serenity (2019) / The White Orchid (2018)
Tystnaden (1963) Ingrid Thulin and Gunnel Lindblom are raw and uncompromising as two sisters, the intellectual and the carnal, drifting apart in the silence, while a curious son explores an empty hotel and war looms outside. Captivating, sexual, tense, both tender and searing.
Scarlet Street (1945) At times meandering melodrama that gradually draws the audience into the lead characters' amoral lives and finally leads to murder and execution as Edward G Robinson is driven to madness. Twisted Dan Duryea and manipulative Joan Bennett are viciously appealing.
Secret Beyond The Door (1947) Little makes sense, yet Fritz Lang's visual sense, the atmospheric lighting and the striking design make this fever dream oddly compelling. Joan Bennett is the new bride stripping away the Freudian secrets to potentially homicidal Michael Redgrave.
Gone Baby Gone (2007) Gritty, sharp and twisted, both in terms of narrative and emotions, the search for a missing child leads to questions of morality and care as stock characters gradually reveal greater depth. Unfussy production values and style, a dark tale with solid performances.
Ouvert la nuit (2016) Appealing, humourous, affectionate view of theatre people as a producer and his intern buzz around Paris to find a chimpanzee for the new show and enough money to get to opening night. At times too self-consciously surreal, yet maintains a looseness that is winning.
Horse Girl (2020) Alison Brie's unflinching performance captures an awkward, painful descent into mental obsession and disintegration, even as thoughts emerge that alien abduction is more than fantasy. As offbeat turns to surreal, a pervading sadness proves more provocative.
Serenity (2019) What seems to be a neo-noir with Anne Hathaway's femme fatale persuading Matthew McConaughey obsessive island fisherman to murder her husband, spins into such a head-scratching melodrama mid-way through that the entire narrative disintegrates. Stupefyingly misguided and cold.
The White Orchid (2018) A murder mystery, deliberately paced and produced, less interested in thrills than with identity and the seductive appeal of other people's lives. With its mix of lingering looks and tantalizing glimpses, a studied neo-noir with satisfying twists and an inquiring, driven Olivia Thirlby.
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