This is an intense psychological drama. The acting is tight as is the unfolding story but forewarnings to those who care not to dwell on disturbing subjects. This will test your limits.

Upon hearing about his brother-in-law and best friend committing suicide and his niece Justine(Lola Creton) being found dazed and naked in the street, Marco Silvestri(Vincent Lindon) leaves his job as a ship captain to rush back to Paris to be there for his sister Sandra(Julie Bataille). A month later, he has moved into a new apartment and insinuated himself into the life of Raphaelle(Chiara Mastroianni), a single mother, who has ties back to Edouard Laporte(Michel Subor), an industrialist who has connections to his own family's business. "Bastards" is a dark moody neo-noir movie. While Claire Denis tells a relatively straightforward story here that also circles back around somewhat unnecessarily to the central incident(I got it once the words "vagina repair" were mentioned, thank you) going from A to Z, she also at the same time leaves out G, H, L, P & T, leaving the viewer to make the necessary connections. Here, they revolve around family, as it almost always does, where perspective can be skewed even under the best circumstances and we get at least two meanings for the film's title. For example, you have to wonder about the Silvestri family business being impossibly high heel shoes and how that perversity might connect to the central tragedy.