When George Stone (Ralph Brown, ALIEN 3) is found brutally clubbed to death in his apartment, the likely suspect is his former stepson and current flatmate Stevie (Max Deacon, FLASHBACKS OF A FOOL) who is now being hidden from the police by George's ex-wife Janet (Jodhi May, NIGHTWATCHING). There is, however, another suspect that lead detective Bernie Reed (Gabriel Byrne, THE USUAL SUSPECTS) has failed to report: Anna Welles (Charlotte Rampling, THE DAMNED), a divorcee living with her daughter Emmy (Hayley Atwell, CASSANDRA'S DREAM) and granddaughter who frequents the same lonely hearts events as the victim (under the assumed name "Allegra"). Instead, he pursues Anna on his own time and becomes romantically involved with her, seemingly unaware as to whether he's drawn to her because he suspects her or if he believes she's innocent. Memories of her evening with George start to come back to Anna; however, it seems that she has an even darker secret to face.

As far as Charlotte Rampling thrillers go, I, ANNA can be likened more to Francois Ozon's SWIMMING POOL or UNDER THE SAND (if you consider that a thriller) than BASIC INSTINCT 2 (in which the actress was wasted in supporting role). Indeed, the thriller aspect is more psychological than procedural with an emphasis on Anna's psychosis (the results of the investigation are parsed out so thinly across the narrative that the police come across half-assed). As with most modern noir films, a twist of perception revelation is inevitable. If taken as a murder mystery, Anna's secret and the murder seem thrown together in a muddled script; however, things gel better if one accepts it as a romantic thriller (it's not really an "erotic thriller") with the emphasis on the relationship between Anna and Bernie, then I, ANNA succeeds in depicting its central relationship where Jane Campion's adaptation/revision of Susanna Moore's IN THE CUT failed (even with a flimsier plot). Fortunately, Rampling is her usual beguiling self and Byrne packs a lot of depth into a character who was not only underwritten but further cut down in the editing (deleted scenes reveal a lengthy monologue about his childhood that was perhaps unnecessary but beautifully performed). Honor Blackman (GOLDFINGER) has a cameo appearance early on. French electronic duo K.I.D. provide an effective Graeme Revell-esque minimalist score while Richard Hawley provides some smoky vocals. TV cinematographer Ben Smithard shot the film in 2-perf and 3-perf 35mm rather than an anamorphic scope process, achieving an intriguing texture (he also spikes the cliche predominately bluish gray color palette with some strikingly saturated colors from Rampling's iconic red dress to the gel lighting of dance clubs). Certainly a stylistic triumph if not entirely a narrative one.