In Your Hands
Told predominantly through a flashback, In Your Hands explores the relationship between the cold, lonely surgeon Anna Cooper and her kidnapper, Yann Ochberg who blames her for the loss of his wife, who died during an operation she performed. However, Yann is not capable of murder or premeditated violence, and as time passes the pair form a connection based on their shared loneliness.
2.6 out of 5 based on 10 reviews
|
Omniscore:
|
| Certificate |
15 |
| Genre |
Drama |
| Director |
Lola Doillon |
| Cast |
Kristen Scott Thomas |
| Studio |
Artificial Eye |
| Release Date |
July 2012 |
| Running Time |
81 mins |
| |
Told predominantly through a flashback, In Your Hands explores the relationship between the cold, lonely surgeon Anna Cooper and her kidnapper, Yann Ochberg who blames her for the loss of his wife, who died during an operation she performed. However, Yann is not capable of murder or premeditated violence, and as time passes the pair form a connection based on their shared loneliness.
Reviews
Empire Magazine
David Hughes
“Both of the two central performances and Doillon’s sure handling of difficult material are equally impressive in this brief but astute examination of the complexities of human affairs.”
16/07/2012
Read Full Review
The Independent
Anthony Quinn
“Kristin Scott Thomas plays another of her fine-boned, high-strung madames in this odd two-hander. ”
20/07/2012
Read Full Review
The Daily Telegraph
Tim Robey
“As sure as Wimbledon, caped crusaders, and the utter lack of acceptable weather, July brings counter-programming to the art-houses, in the shape of Kristin Scott Thomas doing intense things in French ... a rigorously switched-on central performance is pretty much a given. She has her rivals: Juliette Binoche crumples more profoundly; Tilda Swinton aches more exquisitely; Isabelle Huppert goes more nuts. Still, Scott Thomas rules the roost if we’re looking at inner burn, at the fury that always seems to be snacking on her marrow. If emotional masochism ever became a four-a-side team sport, this quartet would never lose.”
19/07/2012
Read Full Review
Total Film
Tom Dawson
“At a taut 81 mins, this crisply shot two-hander is further proof of how modern French cinema consistently allows Scott Thomas opportunities to excel in psychologically challenging roles.”
19/07/2012
Read Full Review
The Observer
Philip French
“In this first part there's an emotional ebb and flow, the threat of violence and some physical conflict, as the two discuss the case and its emotional ramifications. In the second part, a delayed instance of the Stockholm syndrome, some mixture of guilt and sympathy seems to draw Anna to seek out Yann. A passionate affair ensues that is in its way as dangerous as the period of incarceration, possibly more so. ”
22/07/2012
Read Full Review
Time Out
Cath Clarke
“Early scenes between Anna and Yann – convinced he’s the victim of her professional misconduct – are thrilling. She’s in every way his superior, batting him away like a schoolboy and icily dismissing his grievances. The weak link is the script, which implausibly turns on Anna developing Stockholm Syndrome.”
18/07/2012
Read Full Review
The Sunday Times
Edward Porter
“Scott Thomas tries hard to persuade you that this is a worthwhile study of a conflicted woman, but the plot of Lola Doillon’s film is so banal, it might as well be Hollywood nonsense. ”
22/07/2012
Read Full Review
The Times
Wendy Ide
“Clever Kristin Scott Thomas. Fed up with being cast as brittle toffs in British costume dramas, she has forged a parallel career in quality French art-house cinema, working with directors who don’t automatically see her as an uptight posho. Still, even the French don’t always get it right.”
20/07/2012
Read Full Review
The Guardian
Peter Bradshaw
“The film begins intriguingly and promises much, with an interesting flashback structure which initially conceals as much as it reveals. But in its third act, the movie runs out of ideas and has no more to tell us. ”
19/07/2012
Read Full Review
The Independent on Sunday
Nicholas Barber
“It's really just a bare-bones fringe play without enough dialogue to explain the bewildering choices its characters make.”
22/07/2012
Read Full Review