Film Review – The Woman In The Fifth

A French-Polish-UK co-production, The Woman in the Fifth had it’s premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival this past September and has already seen release in France. The film follows an American writer, Tom Ricks (Ethan Hawke) as he moves to Paris, hoping to get back in the good graces of his estranged wife and daughter. But things don’t go necessarily as intended.

Tom is barely in Paris for a few hours when his belongings get stolen. With little money and no real plan of action, Tom heads to a seedy part of town where he finds a room in a very shady hotel, which also houses some equally shady characters. He ends up working as a night watchmen for a mysterious operation to make ends meet. Things are looking pretty dismal for Tom as he spends his days watching his daughter from afar and his nights writing his thoughts to her whilst working. Then, at a literary party, he meets the beautiful and sensuous Margit (Kristin Scott Thomas) with whom he starts a passionate, and ultimately dangerous, affair. Their relationship is the beginning of the unraveling of Tom and also a threat to his daughter.

The film is very loosely based on popular thriller writer Douglas Kennedy’s novel of the same name. However, Polish director Pawel Pawlikowski is quick to admit that the film is less of an adaptation and the book used more as a starting point. It takes on a life of its own, and anyone looking to see the film due to their love of the book is likely to be disappointed. Pawlikowski manages to craft a film all his own in an unfamiliar, dark Parisian landscape full of dark alleys and graffiti not normally depicted on screen.

Tom (Ethan Hawke) and Margit's (Kristen Scott Thomas) first meeting

As Tom, Ethan Hawke brings believability to the role. Being an author himself, he seems to be able to resonate the inner soul of this writer. He makes Tom likeable, which is a good thing considering almost every frame of the film focuses on him. But, he’s also a man that makes bad choices, and it’s easy to spend the movie willing him to choose a different path.

It’s Kristen Scott Thomas that should be the main draw here. Margit is mysterious yet welcoming to Tom. Her intensity and intellectual capacity reel him in to their intense relationship. One of the main downfalls of the film is the lack of screen time awarded to Thomas. The trailer makes her seem much more present, and while she is central to the film, she is absent from the screen much too frequently. As the eponymous character, she absolutely sizzles and the film becomes much more dull when she is away from the action.

Tom arriving in Paris

For the first half, The Woman in the Fifth, succeeds in creating a relatable and believable landscape for a consummate thriller. However, as Tom begins to unravel, so does the film. While the intention of the director seems to be to blur the lines between reality and fantasy, the movie just simply becomes too unfocussed. There are too many loose ends, too many plot details left undiscovered. And while the etheral conclusion seems appropriate considering the viewer’s knowledge of the film’s happenings, there is just too much left to the imagination to give many thrills at all.

The Woman in The Fifth hits UK cinemas February 17th.

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