I, Anna (2012)

A noir thriller told from the point of view of a femme fatale, who falls for the detective in charge of a murder case.

Director:

Barnaby Southcombe

Writers:

Elsa Lewin (novel), Barnaby Southcombe (screenplay)

Stars:

Charlotte Rampling, Gabriel Byrne, Hayley Atwell

2 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Charlotte Rampling	...	Anna Welles
Gabriel Byrne	...	D.C.I. Bernie Reid
Hayley Atwell	...	Emmy
Eddie Marsan	...	D.I. Kevin Franks
Jodhi May	...	Janet Stone
Ralph Brown	...	George Stone
Max Deacon	...	Stevie
Honor Blackman	...	Joan
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Roger Alborough	...	Eric
Joey Ansah	...	Bull
Leandra Ashton	...	SOCO
Simon Balfour	...	Waiter
Perry Benson	...	Morris
Caroline Catz	...	Louise
Silvia Crastan	...	Speed Dater

Storyline

A noir thriller told from the point of view of a femme fatale, who falls for the detective in charge of a murder case.

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Plot Keywords:

murder | two word title | name in title | punctuation in title | comma in title | 

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Twitter

Country:

UK Germany France

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 December 2012 (UK)

Also Known As:

Eu, Anna

Filming Locations:

Hamburg, Germany

Company Credits

Production Co:

Embargo Films, Riva Filmproduktion, Arsam International

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film's star (Charlotte Rampling) and its director (Barnaby Soutcombe) are real life mother and son.

User Reviews

A silly story, but it's raised by solid performances.

Adapted from the novel by Elsa Lewin, I, Anna marks the feature directorial debut for Barnaby Southcombe, starring his mother Charlotte Rampling in the title role as Anna Welles. Anna is a woman with a secret, as her memory of waking up next to a murdered man is clouded even from her own mind and she slowly is revealed more and more of the truth to herself while embarking on a new relationship with the detective investigating the case, played by Gabriel Byrne. Trying to pick her romantic life back up after a separation from her ex-husband, Anna is living with her daughter (Hayley Atwell) and granddaughter, spending nights at speed dating events trying to find the right new man. When one of those men ends up dead, she can't remember the events leading up to it and is unsure just how far her own guilt goes in the matter.

Told from the perspective of Welles, I, Anna takes a somewhat fresh approach to the noir thriller genre that it buries its roots deep within, as Byrne's D.C.I. Bernie Reid is portrayed more as a supporting character in Anna's story as opposed to the protagonist trying to dissect the femme fatale. That's what he is doing, sure, but the script here is much more focused on Anna's personal struggle and trying to unravel who she is as a person, rather than building itself off of the murder case at the center. Admittedly, the whole plot is relatively absurd, featuring a handful of obvious red herrings and some foreshadowing to its big twist that was a bit too on-the-nose but what works here are the wisely reserved performances from its talented cast and the moody atmosphere that Southcombe applies.

There's a bleak grey sheen hanging above the dreary London setting that sets just the right tone for this melancholic character study, and Rampling really bites into a great role for an actress of her age to deliver some tremendous work in. The entirety of I, Anna is built on a structure that keeps Anna herself a mystery from everyone, including the audience, until the final act reveals all truths but Rampling's quietly haunting performance allows you to care for her before ever knowing whether or not you really should. She's a tragic soul lost in her past and her own foggy present mind, not knowing what she's been responsible for but knowing that there's some kind of darkness there that she has shut herself off from, and all of this is deeply felt in her slowly maddening descent.

Byrne is appropriately jaded and world-worn, and Eddie Marsan provides some nice gruff support as a fellow investigator, but I, Anna totally belongs to Rampling at the end of the day. I also want to make quick note of the soundtrack by K.I.D., providing a score that at first wouldn't seem like it'd fit the mood that Southcombe is aiming for but by the end I was surprised by just how well it worked within the context of the story. It kept a nice rhythm going, which was good to have around since even at an 87-minute running time this one can drag a bit at times.