The Escape

A woman sets out to reclaim her life in this stirring, emotionally rich look at what it means to start over. Tara (Gemma Arterton), a housewife in suburban London, is living a life that is no longer hers: it belongs to her overworked, self-absorbed husband (Dominic Cooper); her young son and daughter; and the numbing routine of housework and childcare. In desperate need of a change, Tara one day makes a bold decision. Armed with a one-way ticket to Paris, she leaves everything behind to rediscover herself in a new city—but walking out on your life isn’t so simple.

Built around a remarkable central performance from Gemma Arterton, The Escape is a perceptive, deeply compassionate portrait of a woman on the rocky road to becoming herself.

“Bolstered by Gemma Arterton’s unvarnished, affecting lead turn as a young stay-at-home mom in soulless suburban England who’s slowly consumed by depression she’s made to feel guilty for having, Savage’s film thoughtfully and credibly outlines the conflict between a superficially abundant lifestyle and overwhelming internal lack.” – Guy Lodge, Variety

“A compelling, sometimes wrenching drama… Arterton flexes dramatic muscles which lighter roles have hitherto concealed, while Dominic Cooper is well cast as the handsome, shallow husband who can barely comprehend, let alone articulate, the anguish that is taking the shine off his trophy wife.” – Wendy Ide, Screen International