FILM
For the latest news, listings and reviews, go to list.co.uk /film
BERLIN SYNDROME Australian director Cate Shortland’s tense thriller explores the banality of evil
What begins as a Before Sunrise-style holiday romance quickly morphs into Room in a rigorously humanised thriller based on Melanie Joosten’s novel from Australian director Cate Shortland (Lore). Star-in-the-ofi ng Teresa Palmer gives a nuanced, gutsy turn as Clare, a young Aussie photographer visiting the eponymous city. After a reassuringly conventional ‘meet-cute’, she enters into a highly charged l ing with harmless-seeming teacher Andi (Max Riemelt), before i nding herself imprisoned in his isolated apartment. Movies exploring backpacking nightmares have tended
toward the grindhouse. Instead there’s a touch of Repulsion as Clare struggles with her sanity, and Shortland explores the ‘banality of evil’, represented by a man who presents an ordinary face to the world but who hides a dangerously misogynistic outlook. Scenes of Andi going about his day without arousing a speck of suspicion chill as much as the film’s violence. Fidgety camerawork conveys the anxiety and elation of lone-travelling while the generous runtime accentuates the gruelling nature of Clare’s ordeal. Although near-miss escape attempts deliver the requisite tension, this is far more than a vehicle for cheap shocks. (Emma Simmonds) ■ General release from Fri 9 Jun ●●●●●
1 Jun–31 Aug 2017 THE LIST 75