A young woman, Una, arrives unexpectedly at an older man's workplace looking for the truth behind the repeated statutory rape that occurred between them. The interactions were instigated by Ray when she was a 13-year-old child and he was a next-door neighbor and trusted friend of her father. The facts came to light on the eve of their planned elopement. Convinced by a misunderstanding that Ray had abandoned her, she wandered the streets distraught and bewildered, to be returned home by police, seemingly betrayed. He served years in jail for his crime, treated as the lowest form of humanity by fellow-inmates. Having changed his name to "Pete", he rose up to management level in a large warehouse. She grew up lonely and confused, living with her mother in the same house they lived in before the incident, and in her adulthood, now takes solace in going out for one-night stands and returning home before dawn. She finds where he works through a newspaper photograph and confronts him just as he is about to attend a critical staff meeting, where he must announce cutbacks and layoffs to employees. Una insists they talk, as she is still emotionally wounded from what happened between. Instead of empathizing with her, Ray fears she may want to damage his career and slips out of the room. The encounter troubles him greatly. Unnerved, he is unable to function at the work meeting, leaves abruptly, and hides from angry executives and his fellow staff members. Una finds him. They quarrel: he insists that he was genuinely in love with her, is not by nature a hebephile, and had not been "grooming" her. He tells Una he is now married to a woman his own age. It's obvious that he is still attracted to Una. She instigates a sexual encounter with him, but before it goes too far, Ray abruptly leaves and returns to his home. He and his wife have planned a large dinner party to be held that night. He gets home and has sex with his wife with his eyes closed. Una leaves the warehouse with Scott, a young single man, and Ray's co-worker. She invites herself to Scott's place, where she seduces him. She then persuades Scott, by telling him she is "Pete's" daughter, to escort her to Ray's luxury country residence, where the party is under way. Ray is mingling with his guests as if nothing happened, but is shocked to see Scott and Una arrive. He is clearly troubled by fears of being unmasked. The wife and Una talk briefly; and she drops a hint that their marriage is not entirely happy. Una wanders upstairs, where she finds the bedroom of a teenage girl who is obviously loved and cared for. She curls up on the bed when the girl enters and loudly demands an explanation. The daughter of Ray's wife, from an earlier marriage, is about 13 years old. Ray denies Una's unspoken accusation. He insists Una is the only one of that age he has ever desired, that she still is "the only one" as he kisses her face, all while his wife, step-daughter and Scott look on from a distance. Una walks off into the dark, and it is clear that Ray's personal life is about to implode.
Cast
Rooney Mara as Una Spencer
*Ruby Stokes as Young Una Spencer
Ben Mendelsohn as Ray "Pete" Brooks
Riz Ahmed as Scott
Indira Varma as Sonia
Tara Fitzgerald as Andrea
Tobias Menzies as Mark
Isobelle Molloy as Holly
Ciarán McMenamin as John
Natasha Little as Yvonne
Production
In November 2014, it was announced that Rooney Mara and Ben Mendelsohn had been cast as Una and Ray respectively, with Benedict Andrews directing from a screenplay by David Harrower who also wrote the stage play on which the film is based. With Jean Doumanian, Patrick Daly, and Maya Amsellem, producing under their Jean Doumanian Productions and West End Films banners respectively. Celia Duval co-produced, with executive producers Jason Cloth, Aaron L. Gilbert under his Bron Studios banner, as well as Sharon Harel, Kevin Loader, Eve Schoukroun. In May 2015, Film4 joined the film as a financier. In June 2015, Indira Varma, Tara Fitzgerald, and Riz Ahmed were all confirmed to star in the film. Jed Kurzel composed the film's score. Production on the film began on June 13, 2015, in the United Kingdom. Further filming locations include Dungeness, Greatstone and Lydd, in Romney Marsh, Kent which feature as a remote hideaway location.
Release
In September 2015, Variety released the first image from the film. In November 2015, it was announced the film had been re-titled Una. In November 2015, IndieWire released another image from the film. The film had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival on September 2, 2016. It also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 11, 2016 and the BFI London Film Festival on October 9, 2016. Shortly after, Swen acquired U.S distribution rights to the film, partnering with Eammon Films handling the theatrical release. Thunderbird Releasing acquired U.K. distribution rights to the film and released it in the United Kingdom on September 1, 2017. It was released on October 6, 2017, in the United States.
Reception
Una received positive reviews from film critics. It holds a 76% approval rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 98 reviews, with an average rating of 6.77/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Unas well-matched leads bring an uncomfortable story fearlessly to life, keeping the movie consistently gripping as it navigates the tricky journey from stage to screen." On Metacritic, the film holds a rating of 62 out of 100, based on 28 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
