Movies concerning vampires and sexual predation are rarely treated with the maturity evident in Trouble Every Day, a controversial film from noted filmmaker Claire Denis. Like a train wreck, this film is hard to watch, but even harder to turn away from. Scientist Shane Brown (Vincent Gallo), struggling to control his desire to eat his sexual partners, travels to Paris with his new wife on honeymoon. He hopes to find a blacklisted doctor (himself working on a cure) whose wife is also afflicted with the unfortunate condition.

The scenes of sexual violence are particularly unsettling, as the film exudes a dreamlike quality that lulls the viewer into complacency. This is a demanding film; it's hard to watch a woman pin down a man and ride him to orgasm as she gleefully chews away his neck and face, or to witness a man butcher a woman's vagina with his mouth and then penetrate her as she screams in agony. The unusual desire to mutilate sexual partners is explored as a pathological disease of human biology, and this de-mystification of vampirism serves to provide a refreshing perspective on the plight of the characters. Despite being afflicted with this horrific condition, Gallo crafts a sympathetic character with a powerful and understated performance.

Although I loved the sense of style, I must deduct a few points for the baffling use of Comic Sans as the font in the opening credits sequence. The somber score (by The Tindersticks) is perfectly suited to the methodical pacing of the film, and provides a perfect compliment to the action. Trouble Every Day is brutal and disturbing, but ultimately rewarding to intrepid viewers.

Thumbs up.