there a lot to recommend this film . principally there be the very fine ( another very fine ) performance from jude law . his versatile and grow up performance glue the ensemble and the story strand together . the support be top notch represent juliette binoche be the pick of the rest and throw into chaos by her thieve son and law flaky contemporary liberal while around her be a convincing neurotic ( penn ) and compassionate urban realist ( farmiga and winstone ) and martin freeman play an almost cameo like doppelgänger to law . and i do not know where they find rafi gavron who be brilliant a a first timer amongst such company . the film have a couple of issue it almost pathologically organise with one too many similar theme investigate and resolve over it arc . the end tie everything up too neatly . despite this the film manage to break the bond of domestic or tv drama that so easily dog other british production . london be definitely a character though . there be carefully choose landmark just off the tourist radar while even the estate where the immigrant family live be not a council dive but a flawed marvel of late 1960s architecture ( the rowley way estate in camden ) . a super film that and from it performance to it look and dispenses with preconception to examine the way modern individual deal with one another in isolation . positive .