There’s no doubt that Norwegian actress Renate Reinsve is a talented actress. The range she showed in 2022’s The Worst Person in the World was extraordinary, playing a twenty-something handling the emotional highs and lows of young adulthood. Since then she has mostly played supporting parts, but in the psychological drama Armand, Reinsve solidifies her talent as one of today’s best actresses.

She plays Elizabeth, a well-known actress who is summoned to her child’s school on urgent business. Armand, who we never see, is six and attending a Norwegian day school. As she speeds erratically through the windy mountain roads. We see teachers and admin talking around the meeting, how they need to try to pacify Elizabeth as soon as things start to get out of hand because they “know how Elizabeth can be.”

Sure enough, as soon as Elizabeth sits down with the teachers and administrators of Armand’s school, her defenses come up wanting to know why she is here and how bad the situation is. When the other child’s parents (Ellen Dorrit Petersen and Endre Hellestveit) come into the meeting, things slowly evolve into a cat-and-mouse-like game between the truth and the emotions driving every character. Did Armand do the thing he was accused of? Is Elizabeth a bad influence? Or is something deeper lurking between the six people in that room?

Writer and director Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel expertly weaves the narrative together and holds the audience constantly in the palm of his hand. Elizabeth’s connection to the other parents is slowly revealed with mastery and intrigue, opening up the story in scope. It’s hard to believe this is his first film.

Armand is a two-hander between director and star, Reinsve clearly understands and executes exactly what Tøndel needs from her. She flips between hysteria and calm on a dime. There’s an entire scene where the camera is close-up on her and she has to laugh for a good two to three minutes before she dissolves into tears. Actresses with multiple Oscars statues to their names couldn’t do that. Reinsve gives a jaw-dropping performance that is only enhanced by Tøndel’s keen eye for storytelling. Armand is a film that the less you know going into it the better, but know you are in for a ride.

Armand is open in theaters nationwide from IFC Films.