By

Nancy

A broken heroine

The underrated Andrea Riseborough (Never Let Me Go; Brighton Rock; W.E.; Birdman; Battle of the Sexes; The Death of Stalin) takes the title role in Christina Choe’s accomplished directorial debut. She plays a profoundly unhappy and unloved 35-year-old woman who has long suspected she may have been kidnapped as a child, and who spends her time creating Internet hoaxes and identities. 

She hears about and goes to visit a couple (Steve Buscemi and Ann Dowd) whose five-year-old daughter disappeared 30 years ago, and becomes convinced that they are her parents. They spend a few days together while waiting for the DNA test results.

That’s it. This is not a thriller or a mystery, but an introspective, extremely well acted and highly nuanced emotional portrait. Not much happens, really. There is no condemnation, nor is there miraculous self-discovery, but this one will nonetheless stay with you.

(85 min)