There must be a factory that churns out action-thrillers the same way a factory produces furniture. No muss, no fuss, and a rotating list of actors who have fallen out of the 'A' list.
Nominated for five Oscars, this film is about secrets, obsession, collective and individual guilt, the indelibility of first love affairs, legality, morality, compassion, forgiveness, and the complexity of behavior.
On the whole David Hare has written a fascinating and engrossing script, and Director Stephen Daldry has given us a taut and emotional filmmaking achievement.