We’re the first to admit it wasn’t a great idea for this new French thriller to borrow its English title from the old John Boorman classic, but Fred Cavaye’s latest is certainly one to set the pulse racing. Those who saw his previous Anything for Her (superior to its Russell Crowe remake The Next Three Days) will know what to expect: taut, no-nonsense intrigue in which an ordinary bloke is pushed by circumstances to discover talents he didn’t know he had. This time it’s trainee nurse Gilles Lellouche who’s pitched into a waking nightmare when villains snatch his pregnant wife and make him kidnap their injured boss from the hospital. An unlikely alliance forms when it becomes clear that both are the pawns of some real bad guys. As a filmmaker, Cavaye is refreshingly old-school – no gimmickry here, just a solid suspense scenario and a succession of thumping chases and confrontations. Brilliantly orchestrated, it’s a top night out. (Notes by Trevor Johnston). IFI IRISH SHORTS
This screening will include the IFB-funded short, The Night Nurse, directed by Terence White. A nurse on a psychiatric ward searches frantically for a missing patient. 4 minutes, 2010, Colour.