The slow creep of the camera mirrors the incremental build in pressure; this is the kind of tension that feels like a tightening chokehold on the audience.

[A] sticky, stop-start drama set in the exacting, pressurised realm of classical music.

"The Audition" may not have the same lingering resonance, but like those earlier pictures, it's a showcase for a performer who erases the distinction between impeccable technique and raw feeling.

A storyline that is both unconvincing in itself and terminated by a sudden and empty denouement.