Stillwater

        Matt Damon disappears into his role as an unemployed oil rigger from Oklahoma, who travels to Marseille, France to help his imprisoned daughter, convicted of murder. The film co-stars Abigail Breslin as his daughter, and Camilie Cottin as a French woman who ends up helping him try to prove her innocence. 

        Ms. Cottin, is terrific on the Netflix show "Call Your Agent" and it's great to see her in a more dramatic role as a single mother who befriends Mr. Damon's character, Bill Baker.  Lilou Saiuvaud plays her nine-year-old daughter Maya, who is simply adorable and has great chemistry with Mr. Damon.

         The film may be loosely based on Amanda Knox's story but writer/director Tom McCarthy throws curve balls into the story that don't reflect anything about Ms. Knox's case. Some of these "curveballs" work to serve the story but there are a few plot holes that can't be overlooked and may nag at an audience despite Mr. Damon's best efforts to act right through them. The story turns on a surprising plot point after morphing from legal thriller, fish out of water story, and domestic family affair. It's that point that reinvigorates the film until it's dramatic conclusion.