The Two Faces of January

The Two Faces of January (2014) is a thriller you can watch online on iFILM, marking the directorial debut of screenwriter Hossein Amini. It comes from a novel by Patricia Highsmith, the writer behind The Talented Mr. Ripley.

Athens, 1962. A polished American couple, smooth-talking Chester MacFarland (Viggo Mortensen) and his younger wife Colette (Kirsten Dunst), tour the Acropolis, where a charming local guide and small-time hustler named Rydal (Oscar Isaac) latches onto them. The meeting looks like chance. But a detective is closing in on Chester, and one night in a hotel corridor a struggle leaves a body to hide. Roped into the cover-up, Rydal flees with the couple from Greece to Crete and on toward Istanbul, while a quiet rivalry simmers between the two men over Colette and over who outmaneuvers whom.

Amini shoots it like vintage European noir: sunlight, ancient ruins, easy wealth and three people who can't trust one another. Alberto Iglesias composed the score. It's one for Highsmith fans and anyone who likes slow-burning tales poisoned by suspicion. Stream The Two Faces of January (2014) online on iFILM.