A young cattle farmer is approached by a veterinarian to make a deal with a notorious beef trader.
Rust and Bone's Matthias Schoenaerts shines in this slightly muddled Belgian crime drama.
Michael R Roskam’s first film is not purely about Jacky, and that’s a pity, because no-one else is as good as Schoenaerts in this Academy foreign language film entry.
It’s refreshing that such a dark and viciously cynical beast earned an Oscar nod last year; it’s just frustrating that it might have prowled more potently if unleashed from a plot which feels somewhat arbitrary.
What’s fascinating about Bullhead, though, is that while director Michael R Roskam has created a convoluted but airtight plot involving undercover investigations, betrayals and revenge, it doesn’t go in the direction one might expect.
A gripping crime story is given added heft by Schoenaerts' portrayal of a man struggling to contain his rage with the world.
Made before Rust And Bone but timed to capitalise on Schoenaerts' new-found profile among English speaking audiences, Bullhead more than deserves its run at the big screen. So does its star.
Perhaps the denouement could have been a little trimmer and tighter given the excellence of what precedes it, but the fatalistic mood reverberates long after you've seen it.
This is a stylish, meaty debut.
Although strikingly shot, the plotting is so confusing that I never got to grips with which character was selling hormones to who, or who murdered the policeman who was on to their racket.
A bleak, dense, complex thriller.
There’s not quite enough in here to justify a second sweep.
Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow from Friday February 1, 2013, until Thursday February 7, 2013. More info: http://www.glasgowfilm.org/theatre/
Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee from Friday February 8, 2013, until Thursday February 14, 2013. More info: www.dca.org.uk
Cameo, Edinburgh from Friday February 15, 2013, until Thursday February 21, 2013. More info: http://www.picturehouses.co.uk/
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