Dina Korzun, last seen in Pavel Pawlikowski's Last Resort, is every bit the melodramatic heroine here, and her captivating presence elevates this considered chamber piece considerably. She's like a modern-day Anna Karenina, a Russian trophy wife in all but legality, who's been imported to Memphis by Rip Torn's wealthy, self-satisfied music producer, with whom she has a young son. While Torn is out tearing up the town, or tearing out his hair in the recording studio, it's his grown-up son from a previous marriage with whom Korzun forges a bond. He has family issues of his own, and united by their contempt for Torn, their liaison is a little too inevitable.

More effective is Korzun's portrayal of isolation and inner turmoil. Glacially handsome, and slightly robotic, she's like a cross between Marlene Dietrich and Nico. As the title suggests, she's an expert in the finer gradations of melancholia, and she does drunk magnificently.