HANNAH New Auteurs

Charlotte Rampling gives another career-defining performance in this taut and layered sophomore feature from Andrea Pallaoro. In a seaside Belgian town, Hannah (Rampling) attends an acting class and has a quiet dinner with her husband. The next day, she lays out his clothes for a trip to take him to prison. As the truth of his accused crime is slowly revealed, Hannah suffers public and private scorn, which she bears stoically except in the subtlest of moments. Pallaoro’s controlled mise-en-scène and assured direction watch with detached but penetrating insight as a woman is pushed to the brink by the collision of shame, loyalty and pride. Through it all, Rampling is in total control in a memorable portrayal that won her Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival. – Sudeep Sharma