British-Moroccan director Boulifa’s second feature, after the acclaimed Lynn + Lucy (2020), borrows its title from a 1950 Joan Crawford vehicle and there is no shortage of parallels between the two, such as cynical ambition, moral compromises and the escape from smalltown life, but this work has many more layers to it than that formulaic noir thriller, notably the legacy of colonialism and its intertwining with gay desire and transactional sex.

Fatima-Zahra and her son Selim live as internal fugitives, the reasons for which only become apparent over time. The revelation causes a breach between the two and each then seeks to rebuild their life, but the weight of the past means they struggle to escape their circumstances and Selim soon finds himself presented with the same choices that Fatima-Zahra once faced.

“[A]n intimate, poignant and even tragic study of a mother-son relationship set in Morocco. It is humane, richly involving and powerfully acted by two headliners making their screen debut.” Peter Bradshaw, Guardian.

“The performances are full-blooded and lived in; the camera finds a painterly beauty even in moments of despair and squalor. And the score, a discordant duel between cello and harp, cleverly evokes the disharmony between mother and son.” Wendy Ide, Observer.

“[A] haunting, peculiar and often expressly queer story of social isolation and outsider survival.” Guy Lodge, Variety

“The story fills with careens of fate and shifting personal dynamics. The title is borrowed from a 1950 Joan Crawford movie, but the film has the punch of an earlier Crawford landmark, Mildred Pierce.” Danny Leigh, Financial Times