British drama in which a woman suffering from depression flees to Paris.
A kind of Ken Loach does Shirley Valentine, The Escape is not a comfortable watch. But it is a rewarding one, thanks to Dominic Savage’s forensic investigation of a disintegrating marriage and career-best work by Gemma Arterton.
The Escape is intelligent and thoughtful, refusing easy fixes or happy endings as it captures the raw pain in these scenes from a marriage.
The ending is trite, but Arterton is extremely good.
The film’s ending is enigmatic and unsatisfactory. In spite of the title, we are given very little sense that the troubled heroine has found any way out of the maze.
A superlative performance from Gemma Arterton is at the centre of this almost unbearably painful and sad film from writer-director Dominic Savage.
General release. Check local listings for show times.
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