This time, it's Matthew Macfadyen.  I just finished watching In My Father's Den, and it was incredible.  Heartbreaking, but incredible. 

It's about this wartime photographer who returns to his hometown after his father's death and strikes up a friendship with a 16 year old girl.  Their friendship grows, gets complicated, and when she goes missing, people start to question the exact nature of their relationship.

It's part thriller, but not really (not as much as the trailer makes it seem).  It has no gore, and it's not a psychological thriller like Silence of The Lambs or anything.  It's more just a drama with a mystery underneath it.  Either way, it's kind of unbelievably affecting.  It came out in 2004, and I have no clue why it didn't make a bigger splash here.  Well, that's not entirely true, I think it was too smart for the average North American movie goer.  But even still.  (Although, judging by the fact that it has only 7 reviews on rottentomatoes - all of them positive - I wonder if it was even released here?  It did screen at TIFF though.  I should start saving now so that I can actually see some movies this year)

It's such a... poignant movie.  And not in an artsy, "cinema" (vs. blockbuster) kind of way.  Everything's really simple - the script is realistic and natural, the actors are refreshingly normal looking and their performances were flawless (the young girl was disarming and smart without being precociously annoying; Miranda Otto (who I loved in The Starter Wife mini series) was incredible, she flew under the radar when considering the movie at large, while simultaneously standing out in every scene she was in; then there's Matthew who was in a league of his own here - seriously.  I can't remember the last time I saw a male lead this strong (well, it may have been McAvoy in Atonement, actually)), and even though the scenery's breathtaking at times, even the colors are completely muted with grays and browns and olives and blues. 

The movie seems a little slow to start, but it picks up nicely and by the end of it, everything comes together in such a clever way.  Little things that you thought had no meaning in the beginning start to take on meaning.  And the ending is... heavy, but amazing.

I could not recommend this movie enough.  It's a heavy movie, I'd be surprised if anyone reading this walked away without being affected by it, but it's... good.  It's really good.  I can't do it justice here, mainly because I just finished watching it a few minutes ago and it kind of knocked the wind out of me.  But if you're in the mood for a smart movie with depths rivaling the grand canyon, then this is it.


P.S. In case you haven't seen it yet, check out this post for your daily dose of "aw, that's adorable.  maybe the world's not quite gone to hell in a hand basket just yet"