Child's Pose

Legendary Romanian actress Luminita Gheorghíu is enthralling as well-to-do, manipulative mother Cornelia, whose grown son, Barbu (Bogdan Dumitrache), feels so smothered by her needy attentions that he has come to treat her with monstrous disdain. The dynamics between the pair intensify when Barbu accidentally runs over a child while driving too fast, and Cornelia swoops in to manage the situation and keep him from going to prison. Not only fearless in dealing with the police, Cornelia also goes toe-to-toe with a witness who expects a bribe to change his statement; brokers a truce with Barbu's girlfriend so they can work together for his freedom; and even ultimately attempts to sway the dead child's parents to get on board. Writer-director Calin Peter Netzer keeps surprising viewers with Cornelia's sense of entitlement mixed with her self-pity over Barbu's refusal to love her, despite everything. A rich, textured film that has long scenes but is shot like an edge-of-your-seat psychological thriller, this is highly recommended. (T. Keogh)