Loveless

The director may be a master at setting a mood, but his insights here don't cut especially deep.

An emotionally stark indictment of middle class malaise and the broken promises of an empire, Loveless is one of the best films you'll see this year.

It's a kind of thriller, but without easy resolution. Zvyagintsev does not deal in reassurance: there is none to be had in this cold, hard place.

Is this what Russia is really like today? Obviously there's more to it than this, but this cold yet extremely gifted director's dissection of his society is never less than riveting.

All three leads give subtly wrenching performances that wouldn't have been out of place in Ingmar Bergman's oeuvre.

Loveless is about a state of mind, a lament, an indictment of crimes against the human spirit.

The performances are strong across the board, from the parents to the volunteers and police taking part in the investigation. Spivak is particularly powerful and dominates her scenes. But side characters are also given moments of their own.

Zvyagintsev's eulogy to humanity lost (...) an absence, rather than a presence. A dark jewel, which, when observed against the light, shows no reflection.

It's a devastating drama about losing something you didn't appreciate until you lost it, possibly forever.

Loveless deserves its place at the table of taut, realistic, and brutally honest thrillers.