'Duelles': the actresses do their level best

In Olivier Masset-Depasse’s Duelles, a stylized melodrama that gradually morphs into a Hitchcockian thriller, two of this country’s best actresses stand toe to toe.

Anne Coesens and Veerle Baetens play perfectionistic housewives and neighbours who are best friends until a tragic accident spoils their relationship and a psychological war becomes ever more bitter. Duelles looks glamorous and the actresses do their level best, but they are let down by the narrative arc and the mediocre script.