Los Lobos

A WOLF AT THE DOOR (A-minus) - This potboiler takes a harrowing view of a love triangle, with a child victimized by the poor behavior of adults.

The debut from Brazilian writer-director Fernando Coimbra thrums with tension and sexual intrigue from beginning to end. A little girl goes missing, and it doesn't take long for police to suspect a woman who has inserted herself into the marriage between Bernardo (Milhem Cortaz) and Sylvia (Fabiula Nascimento). Told in scattered flashback style and partly under the guise of a police procedural, "A Wolf at the Door" has a gritty feel and a lurid camera style.

Coimbra captures the loveless nature of the marriage around the middle of the film in a bedroom scene of bitterness and resentment. But throughout, he manages to mine the sexual frisson between Bernardo and the younger Rosa (Leandra Leal, at 33 a veteran of Brazilian TV). Red-headed Rosa possesses the sultriness of Melanie Griffith and the cutesy innocence of Molly Ringwald.

But she not only seduces the oafish Bernardo, but, when feeling betrayed by him, she takes on an alter-ego to befriend Sylvia and their daughter. Rosa assures the police that little Clarinha is fine and was merely the pawn in a petty act of revenge. Toss in the scene-chewing Thalita Carauta as Betty, who either is using Rosa to get at the couple herself or is another unwitting pawn of Rosa's, and this has the delightful mix of a sweaty soap opera.

Coimbra jumps around in time and shifts perspectives to alter the narrative from the view of different characters, and soon you're not sure if anyone is really telling the truth. Is Sylvia also cheating on Bernardo? Is Rosa a confused victim herself or a cold-blooded kidnapper? The three leads are convincing, as is Juliano Cazare as a world-weary police detective squeezing the truth out of them.

The twists and turns are gripping, and Coimbra has a visual style that is voyeuristic, shooting through window framings and doorways, and steaming up the screen with a couple of raw sex scenes. It all leads to a shocking ending that is as powerful as it is disturbing.

BONUS TRACK
The trailer: