CUSTODY (15)

WRITER-director Xavier Legrand's feature debut is a continuation of his awardwinning short Just Before Losing Everything about a terrified wife wriggling free of the suffocating grasp of her abusive husband.

Custody deservedly won two major prizes at the Venice Film Festival including Best Director and will send a chill down the spine of UK audiences with a penchant for heart-wrenching, naturalistic cinema.

Miriam (Lea Drucker) has managed to flee her volatile spouse Antoine (Denis Menochet) with their 12-year-old son Julien (Thomas Gioria).

The distraught lad becomes a pawn in a battle between the spouses when Antoine asserts his legal rights to see Julien.

The judge (Saadia Bentaieb) is compelled to assess the case purely on who she believes: brittle and emotional Miriam or charming Antoine.

Her verdict has devastating repercussions for Miriam, Julien, 18-yearold sister Josephine (Mathilde Auneveux) and the family, who are determined to protect Miriam and her boy from the monster that lurks behind Antoine’s wellpractised smile.