It is difficult to explain the many twists this narrative takes without dropping spoilers that will ruin the experience. And some may feel the plot -- crafted with an auteur's flair by writer/director Alfonso Cuarón, based on a 2015 novel by Renee Knight -- is too predictable and outlandish to land with the power he so obviously intends.
But I found myself swept away by Cuarón's patient, attentive style. (You'll spend way too much time wondering about the inner life of a cat which constantly pops up in Catherine's home at the oddest moments, framed artfully by the director's lens.) This is a story that moves carefully in revealing its secrets, but never completes an episode without delivering forward momentum, leaving you with new clues, bigger questions and a desire to learn more.
Cuarón, a Mexican filmmaker whose name is associated with ambitious movies like Gravity and Roma, assembles an ace cast here. Sacha Baron Cohen is convincingly emasculated as Catherine's entitled husband Robert and Oscar nominee Kodi Smit-McPhee brings maximum emo energy as their drug-addled son, Nicholas.
But it is Kevin Kline who is the revelation, even though he's turned in Oscar, Emmy and Tony-winning work for decades. An American often cast as the prototypical yank, here Kline expertly plays a quietly caustic British widower -- retired private school teacher Stephen Brigstocke, devastated after the loss of his wife.
With an immaculate accent and disheveled style, Kline plays Brigstocke as a man grieving over a family life atomized by loss, stumbling on an ambitious, merciless plan for revenge.
He blames Catherine for the death of his son, which happened after the two met years ago. Brigstocke vows to make her pay, in part, by circulating the book.
Even the narration is complicated here. While Kline's character often reveals his thoughts by speaking directly to the viewer, Catherine's ideas are rendered by an omniscient female narrator speaking about her, sometimes sounding like the voice of the book itself. (And yes, it can be confusing, possibly on purpose). There are also flashbacks featuring Kline playing Brigstocke as a younger man and a different actress, Leila George, playing the younger version of Catherine.