Killing Words

Laura, a psychiatrist, wakes up tied to a chair in a dark basement. The man across from her is the one who took her, and he says he is a serial killer. Who he is complicates matters further: Ramón, her ex-husband, a philosophy lecturer, a man everyone considers mild. He offers her a deal. They will play a word game. If she wins she goes free, and if she loses she pays for it. Laura Mañá's Spanish thriller is adapted from a play by Jordi Galceran and stays almost entirely in one room with two people. Darío Grandinetti and Goya Toledo face each other. The real subject is less violence than the way words are used to corner someone.