As the full picture comes into focus, the narrative can tend toward the trite. The chief pleasure of the movie is the 35-millimeter cinematography of Jean Louis Vialard.

"Cities of Last Things," which adroitly makes the most of handcuffs as a visual metaphor, displays a keen, wry understanding of that gimmick, and it makes for a surprisingly effective slice of dystopian noir.

The story does reward the effort it takes to unkink it, turning into an ever-decreasing circle of broken connections...

A sombre history of a vengeful man told in reverse, from the near future to the past...