Who You Think I Am

At the outset, this film may seem like a slow, perhaps heavily cerebral drama without a wide appeal. However, dig a little deeper, and you'll discover that Who You Think I Am is actually a thrilling, sleek and deeply enthralling watch.

With a dynamite lead performance from Juliette Binoche and arresting direction from Safy Nebbou, it's a slow-burn thriller that you really won't want to take your eyes away from, as it continues to surprise with regular twists and consistently thought-provoking themes.

The overall premise is simple. Who You Think I Am plays out as a romantic drama between Juliette Binoche, who pretends to be a younger woman online, and François Civil, who we almost only hear by voice and see by text message.

The story therefore looks at the practice known as 'catfishing' (pretending to be someone else online). However, rather than simply looking at the morality of the practice - which is a fairly straightforward debate - Who You Think I Am is a film that takes a really wide perspective, and seeks to understand and discuss a lot more about how this kind of situation comes about.

As a result, though the inevitably doomed online relationship is agonising to watch unfold, the film's most interesting suit is its perspective on female emancipation and liberation - using Binoche's middle-aged character as an example of how women are pigeonholed into roles to conform with by the pressures of society.

In portraying her character's desire to break out of that role, Binoche gives a powerful performance that blends an inspiring and passionate show of female independence with a striking sense of unhinged obsession. As a result, while you certainly sympathise with her character and her motivations throughout the story, that tinge of darker, obsessive personality makes her an ambiguous and often unpredictable lead throughout the film.

And that's where Who You Think I Am is really able to stretch its legs as an all-out thriller. It certainly doesn't have the pacing to be considered your average thrill ride - playing out at a very patient tempo with intimate dialogue scenes the central focus - but there's a bubbling air of cagey tension that grows and grows throughout, which makes the film a captivating watch right to the finish.

Director Safy Nebbou does a brilliant job at injecting that tension and dramatic eeriness into the mix throughout. He's able to make sure the film retains its slow, pensive atmosphere (which allows its dramatic themes to really come out), but also creates genuine excitement with a sleek, modern visual style and a powerfully tense aura in every scene through the film.

The film is at its best in the second act - where tension and thought-provoking dramatic depth work hand in hand. Meanwhile, the third act brings some shocking twists to the table, taking the story in an unexpected direction towards the finish - although it's fair to say the screenplay piles on a few too many twists in the closing stages, bringing things to a slightly more convoluted end than perhaps necessary.

Saying that, I was really impressed by Who You Think I Am. A gripping drama that works just as well as an unnerving and exciting thriller, it's a sleek, stylish film that's full of riveting and thought-provoking dramatic depth. The lead performance from Juliette Binoche is excellent, and director Safy Nebbou does well to balance the film's numerous different styles and ideas throughout.

I may have had a higher rating for this movie had I not had to rely on Englush subtitles. Juliet Binoche, still mesmerising in her middle fifties, catfishes a young friend of her toyboy lover who has just dumped her. Catfishing is a ploy used by devious people to create a fake Internet profile in order to try to attract a potential lover, although they usually try to avoid the victim. Juliet plays Claire who uses her niece Clara as the decoy. Clara has stolen Claire's ex husband and is fair game for the deception. The victim is Alex, and Claire, reluctant to actually meet him, joins him on public transport and persuades him to do a photo shoot for her book, thus luring him into her web without revealing who she really is, thus the title. This is where I became confused as Ludo, the lover who had just dumped her, had recently told Claire that Alex had committed suicide. Anyway, she has her lusty way with Alex and eventually he rumbles her when he finds her phone used for the deception. More confusion follows, without revealing spoilers, and we enter mental illness territory so work it out for yourself if you decide to watch. If you have an interesting script and need a good actress to do it, you can't go wrong with Juliet Binoche but a clearer narrative would have helped.

Juliette binoche makes even a role like this brighter than it could have been. The mood and tone of the film take you into your own loneliness and make you wonder what all one could or be compelled to do, because one is lonely. There's a line in it 'i dont mind dying. I just don't want to be abandoned.'. Lovely line. Watch it for binoche.

This story is really about Claire and her wanting to relive her youth. About how as a woman as she ages she feels invisible. This is a fantasy erotica; it's all about what she wants to feel but cannot. Very compelling and beautifully shot.

I was expecting another movie about social media but not. More about getting old and relationships in the technology era. Great Juliette like always. And you will never gues what will happen at the end.