By Jake Wilson

Copyright theage

Still, within another five minutes, the whole thing is in the rearview mirror and never referred to again, having served its plot purpose of prompting Ashley to take stock of her life and ask for a divorce.

You could say the shadow of death looms over the film all the same, but it really doesn’t. On the other hand, there are recurrent bouts of slapstick violence, including an extended mano-a-mano brawl between Carey and Paul, the other male protagonist, played by Covino.

In this case, the damage is mainly to property, with the mayhem staged in wide shot as they lurch from one room to another of an expensively furnished beach house (Covino is careful about framing, which gives the film a patina of sophistication akin to the characters’ civilised veneer).

The motive for the conflict is sexual jealousy. In theory, Paul is in an open relationship with Julie (Dakota Johnson, by far the film’s most recognisable star).