In Secret

In 19th-century France, a sexually frustrated wife (Elizabeth Olsen) conspires with her lover (Oscar Isaac) to murder her sickly husband (Tom Felton), only to sink into a morass of guilt and recrimination. Adapted by director Charlie Stratton from the play by Neal Bell and Émile Zola's novel Thérèse Raquin, the movie's plot may be familiar by now, thanks to films noir such as Double Indemnity and Body Heat—but, after all, Zola can probably claim to have invented it. In any case, in Stratton's hands it makes a fine psychological study, with a sharp eye for its historical period and first-rate performances all around, especially from Olsen and Jessica Lange (as her domineering mother-in-law), with strong support from Shirley Henderson, Matt Lucas, Mackenzie Crook and John Kavanagh as friends and neighbors.