The Square: Harshly Funny Film Noir

In this Aussie noir thriller, a married middle-aged man (David Roberts) and his younger lover (Claire van der Boom) seize the chance to escape with a bundle of cash. The finely wrought fallout involves an arsonist, a shark attack, and depravity and greed to spare. Most critics agree: it's sinfully good:

• The New York Times calls The Square "a tour of moral squalor." It is "suspenseful, invigorating and sometimes harshly funny," writes A.O Scott.
• The Square takes the conventions of film noir — "femme fatale, shady goons, best-laid plans spiraling out of control"—and gives them enough to make the film fell "almost fresh," writes Stephen Garret in Time Out.

• "As one might expect from stuntman-turned-director Nash Edgerton, the action is well staged," writes Michael Ordona for the Los Angeles Times. But, he says, he doesn't buy the leads: "There angles don't quite meet in the key relationship."
• "It's the kind of movie that features a spectacular car crash, only to reveal, by quiet crying from the wreckage, that a baby was inside" writes the AP's Jake Coyle.

(More the square movie review stories.)