Fiona is dedicated to and consumed by her job, at the expense of her marriage to academic Jack (Stanley Tucci). There is a steely elegance to her she’s an ermine robe with the claws still showing. Eminent high court judge Fiona Maye (superbly inhabited by Emma Thompson) is given to brusque certainties – her decisions in life are as final and binding as those she makes in court. There is no questioning the angular complexity of the central character study, with all its unexpected harmonics and discords. It is also, arguably, one of the main problems with a film that manages to be both wholly persuasive and utterly preposterous. The writing of Ian McEwan – he adapted this screenplay from his own novel – is sophisticated and rewarding.
