A lean little erotic thriller, The Blue Room leads us on a dance of misdirection; an unfolding police investigation leaves us guessing until the final moment just what exactly happened when an illicit love affair turned bad. Mathieu Amalric both directs and stars in a sleek mystery that creates a sense of claustrophobic suspense with a Hitchcockian score and framing that constantly puts its characters in boxes. The blue room itself, the hotel suite where the assignations between Amalric and his lover, Stéphanie Cléau, take place, informs the colour palette of the film – the chilly tones leach out into the interrogation room and the court. However, for all its style, the film’s eventual conclusion seems a little cursory and abrupt.
