PRACTICE DOESN’T ALWAYS MAKE PERFECT.

Reed (Christopher Abbot) decides that he needs to do something about his desire to commit murder and sets up a date with a prostitute (Mia Wasikowska)… but it doesn’t go as expected.

A tight little Sundance release based on a novel by a writer who’s often explored sex, violence and sadomasochism. The film is a study of an aspiring murderer that turns into a game between two damaged people where we’re never sure of how it will end.

Abbott and Wasikowska are good, and the film is intriguing, but a little too thin to be satisfying.

2018-U.S. 81 min. Color. Written and directed by Nicolas Pesce. Novel: Ryu Murakami. Cast: Christopher Abbott (Reed), Mia Wasikowska (Jackie), Laia Costa (Mona), Marin Ireland, Wendell Pierce.