Love story and thriller merge engrossingly in Richard Eyre's excellent adaptation of Bernhard Schlink's novel.
There's one glaring weakness, but in every other respect, it's a superb meditation on that most fascinating of themes: Can we ever really know anyone.
A strange phone call and a password-protected file on her computer alert traumatised husband Pet
er (Liam Neeson) to the possibility he wasn't the only person in his missing wife's life.
Doubt becomes obsession as Peter tracks down Lisa's lover Ralph (Antonio Banderas), uncovering the double life she led in Milan.
Slowly Peter insinuates his way into Ralph's life, discovering a man only too happy to open up his heart about the woman he too has lost.
It's gripping stuff, with the ground always on the verge of shifting beneath our feet.
Just what is Peter planning?
And is Ralph remotely the man he seems to be?
Laura Linney is excellent as Lisa, the woman who has vanished; and Banderas gives a strong performance as the fantasist Ralph; but it is Neeson who gives the film its huge emotional oomph with the palpable anguish and anger he brings to the part of Peter.
The weakness is that the film's big twist is actually the correction of an omission rather than genuinely the revelation of something new.
Yes, it turns the story on its head, but it does so simply because Richard Eyre has held back vital information solely to do so.
The turn changes everything by suddenly telling us something that a principal character had absolutely no reason to hide. Rather than delivering a satisfying twist, it seems simply an unfair trick.
A shame – because in mood and tone, this is one of those very rewarding films which really do get under your skin.
Phil Hewitt's rating ****
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