Passages
By Kit Macdonald
Emotionally raw and unflinchingly intimate, director Ira Sachs pulled off something wonderful with Passages, which follows the development of a dramatic love triangle with the help of three striking and stellar leads: Franz Rogowski as Tomas, a reckless and narcissistic German filmmaker in Paris, Ben Wishaw as Martin, his long-term partner, and Adèle Exarchopoulos as Adele, a primary school teacher with whom Tomas starts a passionate affair. Tomas continues to pursue his desires at all costs, and his shifting emotions and impulsiveness create a cycle of passion, betrayal and deep emotional turmoil.
Rogowski, who never seems to put in a bad performance, isa particularly magnetic as Tomas in a work that delves deeper than most into the involved swirl of relationships and the alternate joy and torture of dealing with a person as charismatic but selfish as his character.