Hungry Hearts

Jude and Mina meet by accident in New York and marry quickly. After the birth, Mina falls into an obsession with keeping the baby pure: no meat, no medicine, no outside. The father notices the child is not growing, and the apartment becomes a battlefield for two. Saverio Costanzo wrote and directed. Adam Driver plays Jude, Alba Rohrwacher plays Mina. Both took acting prizes at the 2014 Venice Film Festival, Best Actor and Best Actress, which two performers from the same film rarely manage. The visual choice produces the discomfort directly. Costanzo uses narrow angles and distorting lenses; as the flat shrinks, the frame tightens with it. The film takes no side, and that is the hardest part: the mother's fear and the father's panic are given equal seriousness, leaving the viewer to measure who is right. Who it is for: viewers who like psychological thrillers built on performance. Who it is not for: anyone unable to sit with a story that threatens a child.