The Woman in the Fifth

The Woman in the Fifth (2011) is a psychological thriller by Paweł Pawlikowski you can watch online on iFILM. American novelist Tom Ricks lands in Paris to be near his young daughter, only to lose his money, his lodging and his access to the girl within days.

Broke, Tom takes a night-watchman job in a shabby building and rents a room above a dive bar. At a literary party he meets Margit, a poised widow played by Kristin Scott Thomas, who seems to know exactly what he wants to hear. The affair pulls him into a city where memory, desire and hallucination stop lining up. Ethan Hawke keeps the writer teetering, and we never quite trust what he sees.

Adapted from Douglas Kennedy's novel by the director of Ida and Cold War, the film runs a tight 84 minutes and refuses to hand you a clean explanation. The Paris here is damp, foreign, faintly menacing. Best for viewers who like a thriller that behaves like a dream and takes its time waking up. Stream The Woman in the Fifth (2011) online on iFILM.