Overview
A gripping tale of a father's desperate quest for custody reveals dark truths lurking beneath the surface.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Extreme
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Moderate
- harrowing
- oppressive
- intimate
- serious film night
- social issue cinema viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film's formal restraint, searing performances, and hard-hitting portrayal of the painful bond between parents and children.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Custody turns visitation, family interactions, and household routines into increasingly threatening situations surrounding Antoine, Miriam, and Julien.
The family court grants Antoine joint custody despite Miriam's account and Julien's refusal to see his father.
Eleven-year-old Julien becomes the central human cost of the custody dispute and Antoine's coercive behavior.
The film's critical consensus specifically emphasizes formal restraint while the drama intensifies within homes, cars, and other everyday spaces.
Films like Custody, and why
The Nightingale
shared domestic abuse subject, escalating psychological tension, and tightly controlled social realism
The Hunt
shared family trauma, child-centered perspective, and emotionally severe realist drama
A Separation
shared intimate domestic conflict, restrained direction, and corrosive parental relationships
We Need to Talk About Kevin
shared claustrophobic suspense, abuse depicted within family life, and formal restraint
Movie Details
- Director
- Xavier Legrand
- Release Date
- 2018-02-07
- Runtime
- 93 min
- Rating
- 7.5 / 10 (743)
Cast
- Léa Drucker
- Denis Ménochet
- Thomas Gioria
- Mathilde Auneveux
- Mathieu Saikaly
- Florence Janas
- Saadia Bentaïeb
- Sophie Pincemaille
- Emilie Incerti-Formentini
- Coralie Russier
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Custody about?
- A divorced family’s custody dispute becomes a tightly controlled descent into domestic terror when a father’s respectable public image conceals a history of abuse.
- What is Custody like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Custody as measured, its intensity as extreme and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Custody violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in Custody as moderate.
- What did critics think of Custody?
- Critics broadly praised the film's formal restraint, searing performances, and hard-hitting portrayal of the painful bond between parents and children.
- Which films are like Custody?
- Films with a similar feel include The Nightingale, The Hunt, A Separation, and We Need to Talk About Kevin.
- How long is Custody?
- Custody runs 93 minutes.
- Where can I watch Custody?
- In United States, Custody is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
