X
- 2018
- Kino Lorber
- 1 h 33 m
- 2018
- Kino Lorber
- 1 h 33 m
Summary Miriam (Léa Drucker) and Antoine Besson (Denis Ménochet) have divorced, and Miriam is seeking sole custody of their son Julien (Thomas Gioria) to protect him from a father she claims is violent. Antoine pleads his case as a scorned dad and the appointed judge rules in favor of joint custody. A hostage to the escalating conflict between h...
Directed By: Xavier Legrand
Written By: Xavier Legrand
- 2018
- Kino Lorber
- 1 h 33 m
- 2018
- Kino Lorber
- 1 h 33 m
Custody
7.5
Where to Watch
Summary Miriam (Léa Drucker) and Antoine Besson (Denis Ménochet) have divorced, and Miriam is seeking sole custody of their son Julien (Thomas Gioria) to protect him from a father she claims is violent. Antoine pleads his case as a scorned dad and the appointed judge rules in favor of joint custody. A hostage to the escalating conflict between h...
Directed By: Xavier Legrand
Written By: Xavier Legrand
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 21 Critic Reviews
83
100% Positive
21 Reviews
21 Reviews
0% Mixed
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 21 Critic Reviews
83
100% Positive
21 Reviews
21 Reviews
0% Mixed
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Custody can be difficult, even wrenching to watch, but it always plays fair with the audience, and the experience, worth every minute expended, is impossible to forget.
The intensity is too much to bear in the best possible way. Legrand knows exactly where to position his characters and what’s necessary to break them. It’s a steady crescendo of suspense despite his source of danger never shifting.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 26 User Ratings
7.5
85% Positive
22 Ratings
22 Ratings
8% Mixed
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
8% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 26 User Ratings
7.5
85% Positive
22 Ratings
22 Ratings
8% Mixed
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
8% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
Extremely well written dialogue and delivered perfectly by actors. some neat camerawork. Very 'edge of the seat' last 15 minutes. Some loose ends but didn't really affect the viewing. chooke me in some reasons
Report
Remember that shocking feeling when Hoffman threw a glass at wall in Kramer vs. Kramer ? Triple it and that is CUSTODY. Captivating, a suspense full of human nature hence it is so menacing. It leads you to take someone’s side, and the frightening part is, you might be so wrong.
Report
An almost unbearably-tense, no-holds-barred drive through the nightmare of domestic terrorism, Custody is a can’t-look-away hybrid of gruelling reality and heightened cinematic technique. The mix is jarring, as intended, and this wrenching, heart-stopping film illustrates domestic violence and obsession in a way that makes the fear real.
Knowingly blending realist grit with generic guile, this unrelentingly tense account of a fragmented family living in constant fear thoroughly merited the Best Director prize at the Venice Film Festival.
A peerless fusing of dumbshow performance and background sound editing, there's a rising panic that allows the final, violent closing act to seem shockingly organic.
Custody doesn’t do much more than plunge the audience into this hellish situation, but it shrewdly understands the bad dad’s pathetic pathology, and the film may resonate for anyone who’s grown up under the unhealthy supervision of a mean bastard. Take that as a sobering recommendation.
Custody is concerned with the failure of process to discern human need and perversion, and Xavier Legrand rather ironically follows in the footsteps of bureaucracy by reducing people to statistics.
A well-made film, tight and intense. The theme is somehow ordinary and predictable. Execution of acting and film-making is excellent. The boy actor is a stand-out.
Report
There is no nuance to this film. One party is all good, the other all bad, and we are told nothing about how they got there, either individually or together. If we are to ponder how the French legal system handles cases like this, and if reforms are needed, we are offered no clue. The judge's decision is on the side of a phone conversation we don't get to hear. There is a subplot dealing with a pregnancy that is dropped completely. The party sequence is largely confounding; are the key characters bothered, disturbed, concerned, or just partying. Who knows? I watched this right after Marriage Story, which is far superior, with the depth I expected to see similarly here.
Report
Production Company
K.G. Productions,
France 3 Cinéma,
Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée (CNC),
Canal+,
Ciné+,
France Télévisions,
Région Bourgogne-Franche-Comté,
Haut et Court,
Société des Producteurs de Cinéma et de Télévision (Procirep)
Release Date Jun 29, 2018
Duration 1 h 33 m
Awards
César Awards, France
• 4 Wins & 10 Nominations
CinEuphoria Awards
• 1 Win & 5 Nominations
Lumiere Awards, France
• 1 Win & 4 Nominations
