L’Amant Double (18)
Directed by Francois Ozon

FRENCH film-maker Francois Ozon delves into the subconscious, split personalities and the relationship between identical twins in this deliciously dark and sexually charged thriller.

It explores the fragility of the mind through his protagonist Chloe (Marine Vacth), a young woman with a propensity for depression and acute stomach pains, who embarks on psychotherapy. She soon falls for her psychiatrist Paul (Jeremie Renier) while he commits the cardinal sin of developing feelings for her too.

After moving in together, she soon discovers that Paul isn't as forthcoming about his life or his past as he appears, particularly when she accidentally discovers that he has a twin brother Louis (also Renier) who is a therapist too.

Loosely based on Joyce Carol Oates's novel Lives of the Twins, Ozon's sleek, uber-disturbing and sexually graphic drama explores neuroses, sexuality and the dark side of split personalities, with overtones of Dead Ringers and The Man Who Haunted Himself.

From the opening scene — an intimate close-up of a pulsating vagina, which as the camera pulls away we discover is Chloe's who is being examined by a gynaecologist — Ozon sets the tone to shock and keep the viewer off-kilter and question what they see. He imparts everything you need to know in the first 10 minutes of the film as Chloe opens up to Paul in therapy.

Vacth, who starred in Ozon's Young and Beautiful, is stunning and totally mesmerising as the sexy, manipulative yet troubled Chloe who knows exactly how to push her psychiatrist's buttons and plays a dangerous game as she becomes involved with both siblings.

Renier is equally tremendous as the two brothers who are mirror images of each other — Paul is the good guy while Louis is the proverbial bad 'un.

But is Paul as kind and loving as he appears? Can one partner satisfy all your sexual needs and appetites? Like Chloe, it soon becomes difficult for us to tell the twins apart as Ozon skilfully plays with reality and fantasy as he throws mental slippages into the mix, racking up the tension and the sinister undertones.

With its alarming left-field finale, Ozon knows how to leave a haunting impression.