Mark of an Angel

French psychological drama about obsession and loss. Catherine Frot stars as Elsa, a woman fighting a custody battle for her son. At a fancy-dress party she comes across a little girl whom she believes is the daughter she lost in a maternity ward fire six years previously. Becoming increasingly fixated, Elsa then befriends the girl's wealthy mother (Sandrine Bonnaire).

Dave Calhoun, Time Out: [Director Safy] Nebbou quietly marshals claustrophobia and tension without encroaching on more bombastic thriller territory. He's well-served by two actresses who play up to the subtlety of their roles as written: Frot is pleasingly hard to read, so we're never sure on which side of reason her behaviour falls, while Bonnaire gradually allows a growing sense of unease into her portrait of a woman who superficially has it all. (Verdict: four stars out of six)

Kevin Maher, the Times: Typically, it's smart, seductive stuff that taps the primal power of maternal grief. Like The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, but without the hysteria. Frot is a miracle worker throughout, and has a genuinely uncanny ability to convey arrogance, fragility and complete insanity in one twitchy grimace. (Verdict: three stars out of five) ·