Very disappointing
I just watched this and was not impressed.
I very much wanted to like it, because the trailer and poster were beautiful and I'm a huge fan of both Eddie Marsan and Romola Garai. I did greatly enjoy both of their performances, but that was about it. I found the film to be self-conscious and pompous - see, for example, the overblown sequence in which Lynette does the self-defense moves and Frank wanders around being reflective, complete with tinkly thoughtful music and flashbacks.
I also found the dialogue dull and cliched - there was nothing original or moving about the way Lynette and Frank interacted and as such I found it hard to buy into their quick and secure bond.
"In return for what?" "In return for nothing," was probably supposed to put a lump in my throat. But it's just not that poignant when it's been done so very many times. And by the time they were hammering the point home with her hand on his leg and "You don't have to do that" and the jacket round her shoulders to punctuate it? I was just irritated.
Frank saying to himself "Soft in the head you are," and Lynette overhearing and saying "You know that's the first sign of madness - talking to youself," is another example of a bit of dialogue that was highly cliched and devoid of any real sweetness as a result.
I also found the film to be highly contrived - the entire set-up for the central relationship was improbable, and Frank's Highly Meaningful Conversation with the down and out vet had me rolling my eyes. Perhaps worst of all was the ending. I saw it coming the minute we saw the little girl's room Lynette was going to be staying in - but just in case I didn't they chucked in some Very Important Dialogue shortly after about his daughter and how he should find her. It was very clear how Christine's storyline was going to tie in, and I can't say that the banal way they were reunited and the cop-out non-exploration of their relationship made it any more interesting. And really, the heavy-handedness of the parallel between his relationship with Lynette and his relationship with his absent daughter was unforgivable. I physically cringed when Frank actually said "Yeah? Well now I've found you!" Marsan did his best with the delivery but the line was just embarrassing and totally unnecessary.
I might have found the film enjoyable despite these things if all the performances had been as good. Unfortunately I found Reid's performance to be mannered and charmless. The boy playing her cliche of a love interest/abuser was suitably repulsive, but in a way that was difficult to find entertaining.
Probably the best part of the movie was "But the taxi was... it... broke." I was really interested to learn more about who Christine was, and felt that the film was too heavily weighted towards her father's inner life and pretty much left her out in the cold. She was a prop for him, not her own character. The only reason that wasn't more irritating while watching than it was on reflection is that Garai is one of those rare performers who can create interest equivalent to ten lines of dialogue just with a look on her face.
The other part of the film that I thought was really well done was the flashback to Frank's past trauma. "Wardrobe" was particularly chilling and miserable - even more so given the reveal that he was not a victim, but the perpetrator.
Overall, a very ordinary film trying as hard as it can to be extraordinary. I wouldn't say the director was without talent, but I was not impressed with the writing at all.