Thérèse Desqueyroux

An independent-minded young woman marries into a conventional land-owning family with disastrous results in this screen adaptation of Nobel winner François Mauriac's 1927 novel. Audrey Tautou shines as the eponymous antiheroine, whose actions scandalise local society and bitterly confuse her well-meaning husband Bernard (Gilles Lellouche), who's more at home with hunting and shooting than pondering feminine neuroses. This final film from respected French director Claude Miller (The Little Thief, A Secret) adopts a more straightforward timeline than the original book, and makes a brave decision not to over-explain Therese's dark motivations. The undeniably atmospheric result boasts an abiding sense of ominous intrigue, which will draw in some viewers but might prove too enigmatic for some tastes. What's not in doubt, however, is the quality of Tautou's central performance, utterly mesmerising as her implacable inner demons push her into conflict with everything around her.