Hallow Road (15)
Directed by Babak Anvari
★★★★

HOW far would you go to protect or save your child? Would you lie and take the blame for their actions in order to safeguard their future? That is the moral question at the heart of this nail-biting psychological thriller, directed by Babak Anvari. 

The film follows Maddie (Rosamund Pike) and Frank (Matthew Rhys) as they receive a distressing phone call at 2am from their 18-year-old daughter Alice (Megan McDonnell) sobbing that she has hit a young girl with her father’s car. Maddie advises her to phone the emergency services immediately for help as she and her husband decide to drive to Alice’s aid in the middle of the forest on Hallow Road. 

What ensues is one of the most intense and heart-stopping car rides on film. Reminiscent of Tom Hardy in Stephen Knight’s Locke (2013) Pike and Rhys spend most of the time in a vehicle, on the phone, and in their case speaking to their distraught daughter in a hair-raising race against time. A fellow critic told me how, during the first half-hour, he had to continually remind himself this was just a film because it felt so real. The tension and the suspense were insane.  

Pike and Rhys are phenomenal, delivering tour de force performances within the confines of a car, and bringing William Gillies debut screenplay to realistic life. 

Within the claustrophobic confines of the car Maddie, a paramedic, guides Alice on how to give the victim CPR and advises her to call the police and admit to what happened. Meanwhile, Frank argues loudly and profusely, feeling that they need to protect their daughter and devise a plan to avoid her going to jail. 

As the journey progresses secrets are revealed, as you start to live within their minds and their anxiety and if you are a parent you will completely empathise with their nightmare dilemma. 

The film takes an unexpected and eerie turn in the final act which requires suspending disbelief, and there is an added twist in the end credits, so read them carefully.

In cinemas May 16.