Disorder

Filmmaker Alice Winocour's psychological thriller stars Matthias Schoenaerts as Vincent, a French Special Forces soldier recovering from hearing loss and suffering from PTSD after his service in Afghanistan. While he awaits a medical verdict, Vincent takes a security job for a Lebanese businessman to guard a lavish party filled with wealthy guests and government officials, which turns into a week-long assignment "babysitting" the man's beautiful wife, Jessie (Diane Kruger), and their young son while the father is out of the country on business. Vincent is on high alert and constantly on edge, sensing threats everywhere and reacting with sudden action without warning, and Winocour intensifies the experience by channeling Vincent's perspective. The camera constantly scans the landscape like a sniper, and the editing is jagged and fractured, suggesting Vincent's split concentration and a constant hypersensitivity. All of this suggests instability and paranoia—until masked men mount an attack, at which point Vincent is proven correct and his instincts kick into high gear to protect Jessie and her son. Disorder is a crime thriller, psychological study, and ultimately powerful drama, with a tragic edge that shows how war can destroy even the survivors. Recommended. (S. Axmaker)