Leda is a woman nearing 50, luxuriating alone in a quiet seaside spot in Greece, when a brash American family arrives. She’s disturbed by their presumptuous and aggressive-if-crossed takeover of the beach, but fascinated by a stunning young mum amongst them with a clingy child.

When the daughter momentarily gets lost, the two women connect. It’s a simple encounter, but below the surface lies a tangled and messy human tale of how some women don’t relish motherhood, a story about putting your own needs first and the consequences of that.

Gyllenhaal confidently shifts between present and past - with Jessie Buckley brilliant as a young Leda – all beautifully captured by director of photography Hélène Louvart (Happy as Lazzaro, Rocks). As psychologically rich as a great book, Gyllenhaal crafts scenes of pleasure, regret, mystery and peril, always offering a thrilling sense of not knowing exactly what will happen next.

Text by Tricia Tuttle