Woman in the Fifth

Woman in the Fifth, The

Year 2011
Runtime 83 mins
Language French, English
Subtitles French/ English with English subtitles
Alberta Premiere

In his first film since 2004's much-acclaimed MY SUMMER OF LOVE, BAFTA Award-winning director Pawel Pawlikowski shifts gears from romantic drama to psychological thriller without losing any of the nuance on which he's built his reputation. Working with a cast of heavyweights that includes Ethan Hawke and Kristin Scott Thomas, Pawlikowski transforms Douglas Kennedy's novel into a tense cinematic mystery.

Hawke plays Tom Ricks, an American author who moves to Paris in a last-ditch effort to reunite with his estranged wife and daughter. Best-laid plans being what they are, Tom finds himself down and out in the Paris suburbs, living out of a hotel and struggling to make ends meet. Things look bleak until the appearance of Margit (Scott Thomas), a gorgeous widow who strikes up a sudden, passionate relationship with the struggling writer. The more time he spends with Margit, though, the more aware Tom becomes of a series of strange encounters and inexplicable events. Is the affair the inspiration he needs to get his life back on track, or is it a sign that some force is trying to take that life from him?

PRECEDED BY SHORT FILM: SOMETHING LEFT, SOMETHING TAKEN
DIRECTOR Max Porter & Ru Kuwahata, USA, 2010, 10 MIN
Too many true-crime stories and an overactive imagination can make any situation sinister – but just because you're paranoid doesn't mean you aren't right.

Festivals
Toronto International Film Festival 2011
Director
Pawel Pawlikowski
Executive Producer
Carole Scotta, Caroline Benjo, Simon Arnal, Barbara Letellier
Producer
Caroline Benjo, Carole Scotta
Screenwriter
Pawel Pawlikowski
Cinematographer
Ryszard Lenczewski
Editor
David Charap
Production Design
Benoit Barouh
Music
Max de Wardener
Cast
Kristin Scott Thomas, Ethan Hawke, Joanna Kulig, Samir Guesmi