Benedict Andrews directs Rooney Mara, Ben Mendelsohn and Riz Ahmed in this adaptation of David Harrower’s play Blackbird where a victim of child abuse tracks down her seducer decades later.

Well acted and sensitively shot drama which flirts with shifting into thriller territory. Definitely not interested in being a black and white study – Mara’s damaged adult is often explicitly sexualised, the flashbacks to the abuse have humanity towards both participants and Andrew’s captures the everyday threat of port towns and cul-de-sacs. A little too dry and elliptically ended to demand repeat viewings but this is a solid attempt to explore issues without passing the obvious judgements.

5

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