You wouldn’t imagine a film about a topic like a divorce and custody issues would be a pulse-pounding thriller. But as you see in the first trailer for Xavier Legrand’s feature film directorial debut, “Custody,” the dissolution of a family unit is as intense as any other film you’ll see all year.
“Custody” tells the story of a custody dispute between divorced parents, as you might expect from the title. As is all-too-often the case in real-life custody battles, the two parents involved wage a war with their son caught in the middle. The trailer shows tensions escalate after the mediator asks the parents, “Which of you is the bigger liar?” The ticking of a clock plays throughout the footage, as interactions become scarier and scarier.
We were lucky enough to see “Custody” last year and raved about the film, calling it “an extremely auspicious debut for a writer-director with the rare, almost classicist ability to make an utterly riveting drama out of painfully real life.” “Custody” is being described as a companion piece for Legrand’s Academy Award-nominated short film “Just Before Losing Everything.” Legrand ended up winning the Silver Lion for Best Director at the Venice Film Festival for his newest film.
“Custody” finally sees a US release in New York on June 29.
Here’s the synopsis for the film:
Miriam (Léa Drucker, THE MAN OF MY LIFE and IN MY SKIN) and Antoine Besson (Denis Ménochet, ASSASIN’S CREED and GLORIOUS BASTERDS) have divorced, and Miriam is seeking sole custody of their son Julien (Thomas Gioria) to protect him from a father she claims is violent. Antoine pleads his case as a scorned dad and the appointed judge rules in favor of joint custody. A hostage to the escalating conflict between his parents, Julien is pushed to the edge to prevent the worst from happening.
