Therese

Émile Zola's Thérèse Raquin is a brilliantly perverse piece of work. This psychologically meticulous novel of adultery and murder has held a lasting influence on literature and cinema, from James M. Cain's hard-boiled repurposing of its key elements for The Postman Always Rings Twice, to the countless appropriations of its twists in film noir. Since its initial publication in 1867, Thérèse Raquin has been made into plays, operas, and films, but this latest version, while maintaining its period setting, is a Therese for our time, bringing a modern cinematic approach to Zola's sordid milieu, and allowing for depictions of sex and violence that earlier versions couldn't.

We meet our unhappy Therese (Elizabeth Olsen, also appearing at the Festival in Kill Your Darlings) in the provinces with her aunt (Jessica Lange) and sickly cousin Camille (Tom Felton, also at the Festival in Belle), whom she is forced to marry. The family moves to Paris and opens a humble haberdashery, and Therese holds faint hope for excitement — until she meets Laurent (Oscar Isaac), whose animal allure she responds to instantly. Therese and Laurent begin an affair, but it is only a matter of time before they exhaust the novelty of secret trysts — they crave more, and that craving burgeons until Camille looks like their only obstacle to happiness.

Deftly helmed by newcomer Charlie Stratton, Therese's production design is stunningly detailed, and its scenes are shot through with jet-black humour. Yet thanks to the remarkable performances — Olsen's especially — we're never entirely without compassion for these characters, trapped by social constraints, desperate for something better. Therese is a fascinating recreation of 1860s Paris — but it is also as timeless as a story can get.

Piers Handling