Review of Custody

"Jusqu'à la garde" or "Custody" is a new French movie written and directed by Xavier Legrand and this is his first full feature movie five years after he came up with an Oscar-nominated short film work. And while I don't remember being too big on said short film, at least the first time I saw it, I was mesmerized at times by this 90-minute film we have here. the first 75 minutes are rock solid really, nothing wrong, but nothing too great or memorable either. But the last 15 minutes, when the film basically turns away from family drama into a thriller, almost a horror movie (without supernatural elements of course), you will quickly be at the edge of your seat and you will stay there until the credits roll in. Also liked the way they got these in with the closing door, even if it did not feel having great metaphorical relevance to the story. To me the one who stays most memorable is Denis Ménochet, but that is also because he has the baitiest material probably. And his strong physical acting and menacing aura also fit very nicely. He was a great casting choice here. The movie begins in a way where for a long time you cannot be too sure with whom to side and how to share your sympathies between the two parents because apparently both are making crucial mistakes and the little boy is the one who end sup suffering because of that. But with what happens at the very end, you can easily make a case for the woman not wanting to know her ex-man where she lives now. Also about the last scene, I had a feeling he may actually commit suicide because there were moments before when he went from full rage to slight reason in an instant. Okay, you cannot call suicide reason, but you know what I mean. Also despite the hunting references earlier, I did not really see the escalation with the rifle coming in the end. So yeah thanks to the final quarter of an hour, perhaps the most intense sequence I have seen on film all year, I very much recommend checking it out and I would have liked to see this in the French original, but the German dub version was pretty good too. I also liked some of the subplots. They may not have added too much overall on their own, but they fit in very well with the way things escalate more and more and with that I mean the man's relationship with is own parents, not just the father, and also the daughter's relationship and her struggles in general. As for the escalation between the former couple, it can be said that while, like I said earlier, early on it was not clear he was the major problem, the bizarre love confession, the parking lot meeting (also showing his jealousy for the first time) and eventually the nightly visit made the situation more and more serious within a brief span of time. Back to the apartment I mentioned earlier, it was interesting how they took us on a journey through it early on when the mother is moving in and at the end we are there again when things go very wrong. So yes, there are many interesting things about this film and I am sure in case I ever watch it again (why not given how much I liked it), I will discover some new aspects that add even more spice to the viewing. Probably a contender for best french film from 2017 for me, definitely top5, probably top3 even, and given how much I adore French films, this is quite a compliment. A must-see if you love high-quality family dramas. The praise is justified and the awards recognition is well-deserved. Go see this one.