I, Anna

Though it bears many of the hallmarks of a film noir, this adaptation of Elsa Lewin's novel is, at heart, more of a brooding character study. Charlotte Rampling gives a fascinating performance as ageing beauty Anna Welles, who assumes a different identity to meet men on the speed-dating circuit. When another lonely soul is found dead in his apartment, Anna draws the inquisitive eye of DCI Reid (a rumpled Gabriel Byrne), but his growing feelings for her begin to cloud his judgement. The part is a gift for Rampling - it comes courtesy of her son, Barnaby Southcombe, making his directorial debut. She imbues Anna with a startling vulnerability and a touch of something eerie, and Southcombe builds on that with a moody depiction of London. But by trying so hard to maintain an air of mystery around Anna, Southcombe can't properly dissect her motives and Reid's investigation doesn't throw up any surprises until later in the film. Like the traditional femme fatale, Anna leaves you wanting to know more.