'Double Hour'review: Taut thriller is sizzling with reverses

Thriller about a woman involved with a ex-cop. (1:35). Not rated: Violence, sexuality, nudity. At Lincoln Plaza and the Sunshine Cinema. In Italian with English subtitles.

A twisty Italian thriller that takes some liberties with its now-you-see-'em/now-you-don't plot points, but no matter; the way directorGiuseppe Capotondikeeps us guessing is deliciously, maliciously deft.

Sonia (Kseniya Rappoport), a hotel chambermaid and sad-eyed lonelyheart, meets ex-cop Guido (Javier BardemlookalikeFilippo Timi) at a speed-dating dinner. They end up going home together, but after a few more meetings, tragedy strikes: A robbery gone wrong leaves Guido dead and Sonia with a gunshot wound to the head.

But are either of those things real? Turns out that Sonya's been in a coma, and Guido, in fact, is alive. And still more perplexing elements arise: Sonia's father doesn't like her, a promiscuous coworker revels in her tawdry social life and a detective friend of Guido's keeps popping up.

Some of these threads are relevant, and some aren't, but Capotondi keeps us guessing even through"Double Hour's"final, arresting image. Plus he adds one definitively jumpy entry to cinema's history of unsettling bath scenes.

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