DISORDER (Alice Winocour ). Subtitled. 98 minutes. Opens Friday (May 6). See listing. Rating: NNNN
Hey, remember Matthias Schoenaerts, Carey Mulligan’s dashing suitor in Far From The Madding Crowd? Wanna see him play a ticking time bomb? Of course you do.
Disorder casts Schoenaerts as Vincent, a French soldier who takes a security gig protecting the wife (Diane Kruger) and young son of a well-connected Lebanese businessman. He must determine whether the threats he perceives to their safety are real or just the product of his PTSD.
From the first frame, writer/director Alice Winocour (Augustine) plugs us directly into Vincent’s head and never lets us out – a narrative gambit that results in a constant, grinding experience of tension.
That tone can grow wearying or even monotonous, but Schoenaerts keeps the movie alive with an expertly calibrated performance, letting Vincent’s panicked calculations flash across his face in the space of seconds.
Equally important is the fact that Winocour avoids cheats or twists. Disorder is a psychological thriller that plays its story straight from beat to beat, making its ambiguities even more unsettling.
