Armand

Armand begins on an intriguing note but can’t sustain it for long. It piques interest but isn’t satisfying enough. The twists and turns of the plot feel showy and contrived rather than organic...

In a film playing with thriller and melodrama conventions before tipping over into expressive surrealism, hers is a fiercely visceral presence&#59; Reinsve performs as if dancing on the edge of a knife.

Armand gets much weirder as it goes on, with choreographed dance sequences and melodramatic revelations that feel contrived and tacked on to make the film more arthouse and less issues-driven-middlebrow.

Armand has an interesting premise. But the movie, while elegantly photographed, is mostly a shambles. It keeps throwing things at you in an oblique and random way, and it’s constructed like a puzzle with no solution.

Forget sweeping shots of big landscapes, it’s the topography of the human face that is most stunning to behold. In Reinsve’s crumbling visage, we bear witness to what happens when the lives we delicately build threaten to chip and shatter before our eyes.

Reinsve has only about a dozen film credits to her name, but know that “Armand” is the best performance of her career so far, as Elisabeth careens from obstinate and defensive to Isabelle-Adjani-in-“Possession” levels of psychic meltdown.

Reinsve soars per usual through long, drawn-out emotional battles and dream dance sequences. However... the movie tries to empathize with [horrendous] behavior—a fatal mistake.

A compelling and confident film of secrets, class and perspective. Armand is directed with an assured hand, and is given great elevation from its ensemble led by the incredible Renate Reinsve.

While Tøndel's methods for bringing this story to life are a bit overly perplexing and too head-scratching, there is a clear talent for filmmaking on display here that makes his career one to watch with great and serious interest.

Armand utilizes a minimalist setting to delve into a big issue, relying on its resounding, complex controversy to grip the audience for 120 minutes.