This film is in black and white, so that already suggests a level of pretentiousness. Ironically, so was the film version of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf and this effort aspires to that sort of soiree. Sadly, it never comes close to Woolf’s brilliant dialogue and biting interactions. There’s a fine cast, including Kristin Scott Thomas, Patricia Clarkson, Cherry Jones, Emily Mortimer and Cillian Murphy. They gather for a celebratory dinner, but anxiety hangs over every interaction. Unfortunately, so does the ponderous dialogue that destroys any hope of compelling drama. There are some interesting situations that are skillfully handled by the actors, but the whole thing is just leaden with affected, hollow interactions. The best thing I can say about this movie is that it’s only 71 minutes, which still felt too long.

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