Woman In The Fifth,The

Synopsis: Tom Hicks (Ethan Hawke) is a one-book American author. He turns up unexpectedly in Paris to visit his little daughter Chloe, but his estranged wife is hostile as Tom is breaking a restraining order. He falls asleep on the bus and awakes to find himself robbed of everything. So he talks his way into lodgings over a sleazy Middle Eastern café, run by Sezer (Samir Guesmi) who, in exchange, gets Tom to work a night shift in a bunker watching CCTV of the comings and goings of some dubious types. He meets and beds not one but two women – buxom young Ania (Joanna Kulig), who happens to be Sezar’s gal, and the stylish Margit (Kristin Scott Thomas), who encourages his writing. But then one of Tom’s fellow lodgers is killed and one starts to wonder what is real and what is in his imagination.

Adapted from a thriller by Douglas Kennedy, The Woman In The Fifth from the viewpoint of plot is not so much thrilling as puzzling to the point of opacity, and yet the visual flair, the fine acting and the escalating tension make quite compelling viewing for its judiciously economical running time.

Because so little backstory is ever presented, as an audience we find ourselves in a constant state of unease, wondering what Tom has done to be so despised by his ex-wife. Hawke, an actor known for his serious approach doesn’t disappoint here, and delivers a character for whom we initially feel much sympathy, whilst being aware of his personal demons. The unexplained mystery of just what presumably criminal dealings take place outside of Tom’s subterranean bunker is also never explained, adding to the lingering tension and sense of mystery.

It is Tom’s fraught relationships with the women that engages our attention however, notably in one enigmatic little sex scene when he first goes home with Margit (or did he we will later ask ourselves). Scott Thomas is, as always, flawless as the elegant, slightly supercilious but super-seductive Margit, who fits most men’s fantasy wish-list much as does the bouncing young blondie who also wants a piece of Tom.

The baffling enigmas of the characters’ motives and exactly what is real and what is not is at the heart of the film. It is obvious that Tom’s psyche is in bad shape – exactly how bad a shape is for us to ponder. The beautiful and sometimes out-of-focus cinematography helps create a mist of confusion and disconnection which supports our sense of Tom’s downward spiral. There are occasional scenes of nature – insects and trees and owls  - which interpentrate the reality of his grubby situation and disintegrating life.

The resolution (if it is such) of the plot however is what makes the film ultimately a bit disappointing, letting us down with an oft-used and for me cheap twist at the end. Some will find the intrigue enough to carry them through, others will no doubt dismiss The Woman In The Fifth as infuriatingly pretentious European arthouse fare.

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