Tilda Swinton is one of those actresses who should be dusting off a pair of Oscars every time she makes her way through her living room and keeping a seat warm near Nicole, Cate, Kate and Judi each year at the Golden Globes.  

But because she consistently takes chances with her career (frequently at the risk of being deemed unmarketable), while those aforementioned critical darlings cash sizable pay checks and do the Oscar season publicity tour, Swinton flits between big roles in indie fare ( Little Adam, Orlando) and supporting roles in larger studio projects ( Chronicles of Narnia, Constantine).  

Her latest, Stephanie Daley, is one of the former, and had it been released at a different time of year under a firestorm of attention from critics and studio heads, we might just be seeing someone in the Best Actress race to give Helen Mirren a run for her money.  

Swinton plays forensic psychologist Lydie Crane, hired to investigate 16-year-old Stephanie Daley ( Amber Tamblyn), a girl accused of concealing her pregnancy and murdering her infant child. Lydie herself is seven months pregnant, fresh off memories that haunt her from her last pregnancy… a stillbirth.  

It’s an understated performance—one that bounces between past and present, Lydie’s pregnancy and Stephanie’s. The tragedy of mourning the child you could have had and longing to be rid of the child that’s on its way. It’s an eyebrow raiser… one that’s sure to question the way you feel about so many issues, but never once does writer/director Hilary Brougher try and force feed emotions. There’s no sweeping score to tell you when to cry—no classic movie lines to perfectly punctuate each confrontation. She relies on the strength of her actors and the gruesome details of Stephanie’s story to fuel her narrative.  

Tamblyn is a perfect choice for Stephanie—she’s equal parts innocent and commanding, a rare combination that further adds to the “did she or didn’t she” question of the hour. But the film belongs to Swinton who, finding herself consumed by Stephanie’s story, begins to question her own pregnancy—and it’s watching Swinton grasp frantically for some semblance of stability that makes her performance, and ultimately the film, so intriguing.  

Stephanie Daley opens in theatres Friday. For more information on the movie, visit www.StephanieDaley-TheMovie.com