Parents' Guide to Surface

Using amnesia as a central plot element is a woefully cliched narrative cheat, but Gugu Mbatha-Raw's powerful performance will make viewers forget long enough to get sucked into this mystery. Surface's pace is deliberate, too, and those who expect either lots of action or fast-paced twists may get sick of waiting. But patient viewers will be carried along by Mbatha-Raw, whose Sophie has hidden depths. Who was Sophie before she jumped (or fell, or was pushed) from a boat, nearly ending her life? What led to the incident that blotted out the memories of her own existence? And who stands to gain from controlling Sophie's narrative now?

As Surface plays out, the answers come slowly into focus. Sophie has a husband who does something lucrative with finance, a giant San Francisco house, and a wardrobe full of expensive clothing; she also has a crowd of friends she feels no connection with, a mysterious man following her around who says he's a cop, and confusing memories that are starting to resurface. Who can she trust to tell her the truth about who she is and what happened to her? Her husband and friends have hidden motivations, and even her therapist seems to be in on the plot, recommending a mysterious new therapeutic technique that's awakening even more startling past moments. Surface doesn't break new ground thematically, but the execution is elegant and enjoyable if you fall under its spell.