Stephanie Harris

If you are seeking a cheerful, family fun musical style romp then stay away from this. This is an intelligent, dark, challenging watch, all the better for its bleak take on the modern price to pay for extreme success in an elitist world. This is about music, on one level, and for classical music fans it's terrific, to hear choice little clips of Bach etc. But the beauty ends there with Cate Blanchets Shakespearean demise into nightmare, as she slowly but surely becomes engulfed in some serious deep waters of implied sexual misdemeanours, legal complications, and psychological isolation. Needless to say, it's an amazing narrative on the shark like waters of success today, with manipulation and power struggles abounding. Really Really good, and beautiful shots everywhere, with all the lonely isolation of extreme wealth running alongside some very ugly scenes that are never far away. It isn't disturbing but it's quite dark, and very thought provoking. Won't spoil the end but maybe just say it's not what I'd been expecting...!