the script, based on a novel by Melanie Joosten, is tight in the sense of tying up all its loose ends, and Shortland's mise-en-scene, full of close-ups of bruised limbs and peeling paint, effectively enhances the grim realism of the scenario
her insistent imagery and sometimes oblique narrative approach don't always deliver the dividends sought. But the movie identifies Ms. Shortland as a talent to watch
