Sometimes it’s been a tough day and you turn on a fine submarine thriller to be soothed by the sight of Ben Mendelsohn with a hairband.

Fifteen minutes in: *side-eyeing* “yeah, okay...” Then somehow at the end: *weeping* “ye-e-e-a-a-h-h, okay...” What a bracing first feature.  I’ll watch Ben Mendelsohn in anything, and wow, is he spectacular here. Eliza Scanlen and Toby Wallace are full of surprises as well, taking tired tropes and wringing every bit of pathos from them.

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

If there were a retroactive award for casting generational talent, this film would be an excellent candidate. Larson and Dever give towering performances conveying the throughline of enduring and reckoning with abuse, as well as the humor and charm one needs to survive in a world that often fails to protect children.