Kristin Scott Thomas stuns on screen in Philippe Claudel’s arresting new drama.

New York(RushPRnews/The Daily Beast)10/22/08–Never has an actress looked so good while looking as bad as Kristin Scott Thomas does in first-time director (but long-time novelist) Philippe Claudel’s I’ve Loved You So Long or Il y a longtemps que je t’aime, for the Parisians. Many early viewers are heralding her turn in the French film as the highlight of her (already storied) career, and it’s not hard to see why.

Scott Thomas plays Juliette, a former doctor haunted by a horrific secret (an essential key to a great performance). After being released from prison after 15 years, Juliette is taken in by her sister Lea and her new family. The film opens on the scene when Juliette is freed—Thomas inhales cigarette smoke slowly, looking forlorn and bedraggled. When she arrives at Lea’s house, she doesn’t fare much better- Lea’s children are warned not to ask questions about the mystery surrounding Juliette’s incarceration, and her husband is resentful of her sister’s sallow beauty.