Queen of Earth

This creepy, unconventional psychodrama begins with a break-up. The person being dumped is Catherine (Elisabeth Moss), a fragile, miserable woman who is still reeling from the death of her father. Looking for a change of scenery, she goes to stay with her best friend Virginia (Katherine Waterston) at an idyllic, upscale lake house. It soon becomes clear, however, that their friendship is toxic and, over the next seven days, their conversations include a number of venomous exchanges. All this is accompanied by an eerie, ominous score, while a sense of dread hangs over every scene. Overall, this is a haunting, unnerving experience that gets under your skin and the characters are so unpleasant many viewers won't want to spend 90 minutes with them. In that way it echoes writer/director Alex Ross Perry's last film Listen Up Philip, the study of a misanthrope. Moss and Waterston are highly impressive, but be warned: this is a challenging watch.