The Woman in the Fifth

A stylish but oblique picture that offers little in the way of neat resolution.

It is a pity that Pawlikowski abandons his quietly haunting impressionism in the film's more literal second half.

"The Woman in the Fifth" leaves so many holes unfilled that instead of ending up intriguing, it's just plain frustrating.

A thankless lead vehicle for Ethan Hawke who's left largely stranded by writer-director Pawel Pawlikowski's opaque adaptation of Douglas Kennedy's novel.

The movie casts such a seductive air of mystery that the resolution feels anticlimactic, yet there's plenty to enjoy along the way, particularly Hawke's nuanced lead performance as a quiet man with secrets of his own.

When do we first sense reality slip away? Do we? Can the film be accepted on its own terms? Can the point of view be trusted?

The result is something akin to an elegiac and surreal ghost story, but it's as evocative as it is unsolvable.

Pawlikowski's latest feels like a vague dream, though one that's listless and evaporates quickly upon awakening.

The Woman in the Fifth could have worked better if everything didn't feel so inert.

Yes, this is one of those psychological thrillers where no one would be quite what they seemed if it weren't so obvious that they're not at all what they seem.