A solid entry in the neo-noir canon, I, Anna blends style with smart writing to make for an engaging crime thriller led by two of modern cinemas more watchable veterans.

Charlotte Rampling and Gabriel Byrne have almost 200 film credits and decades of experience between them. Apart from their vast talents, the pair has proven themselves to be fearless by often taking a gamble with young, independent filmmakers to (albeit) mixed results.

In Rampling’s case I, Anna is a family affair, with her son Barnaby Southcombe making his feature film debut as director/writer. Yet regardless of the family connection, I, Anna is a which suits Rampling’s tastes.

She plays Anna Welles, a 60 something divorcee whose lonely existence is momentarily interrupted by visits from her daughter Emmy (Hayley Atwell). When we first meet Anna she is taking part in a speed dating session, and it’s the cryptic events of that night which is central to a murder mystery that fuels the plot, with homicide detective Bernie Reid (Gabirel Byrne) taking on the case and falling for Anna.

Based on the novel by Elsa Lewin, I, Anna is a film filled with noir conventions that are tinkered with and well played. Rampling makes for a stunning femme fatale even the age of 66 while also portraying a sympathetic fragility, and Byrne bring a smouldering energy and hound dog look to his role even though he is playing more of a workaday cop than a dogged one.

Good too is Southcombe’s use of the films London setting, opting for less tourist postcard and more cold metropolis with cinematographer Ben Smithard capturing the frank greys of drizzly London weather (perfect conditions for such a dark story) and sleek architectural designs of the high rise buildings and bars where this noir takes place.

That I, Anna can at times feel more like a TV movie than a cinematic one is no surprise considering Southcombe’s extensive resume directing TV programs such as Bad Girls and Teachers. Yet as feature film directorial debuts go I, Anna is a very good achievement and shows Southcombe as a director able to handle a dense screenplay filled with complex characters, smart plot twists and tragically dark reveals.

In the end I, Anna will best be remembered for the pairing of Rampling and Byrne. It’s not often that either actor can headline their own film in an industry unkind to those over the age of 60. Nor is it often that either actor would appear in a film as well written and directed as this in the current stage of their careers. But their pairing in I, Anna is our gain, for these are two talents that suit each other very well.