Engaging enough for the duration but muddled and ill-conceived.

The nonprofessional actors deliver stirring performances and Audiard never sentimentalizes the characters' situation. And despite the film's misguided climax, Audiard again demonstrates that he is one of the top filmmakers working today.

The film simmers and builds until it boils over in an explosive climax. And it shows how far people will go just to be able to cling to some semblance of hope.

Audiard decides to have an action climax ala The Terminator rather than something more in line with the film as a whole. Unfortunately, once the climax ends, we are given one of the most beautifully-shot bad endings in the history of cinema.