It’s 1962, and Rydal (Oscar Isaac) is a handsome American self-exiled in Athens, working as a guide for sightseers, skimming cash from tourists in cheap con tricks. When he spots the well-mannered businessman Chester MacFarland (Viggo Mortensen) at the Acropolis with his attractive young wife, Colette (Kirsten Dunst), he recognises them as easy marks, but, after Rydal has scored a few drachma and a fine meal at the couple’s expense, Chester’s distinguished facade slips and his actions put the three of them in serious danger.

Forced to leave the city for the Greek islands, an uneasy alliance between the trio is constantly on the brink of treachery, as motives remain veiled and questionable. With nods to Hitchcock, this classy, suspenseful adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s novel marks the directorial debut of Hossein Amini, the acclaimed screenwriter of Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive. (Notes by Michael Hayden.)

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★★★★ The Irish Times