Paul has no desire to go out to dinner with his brother Stan, a well-known politician, and his sister-in-law Barbara. But his wife Claire insists on him accompanying her. The couples meet at a hip restaurant but, in between each exquisite course, dark family secrets are brought out onto the table. The couples’ sons are responsible for a terrible crime – as yet undiscovered – and their parents must now decide how to deal with the situation. An argument soon ensues, since public disclosure would change the lives of each of them forever.
Oren Moverman puts moral conflict right at the heart of his thriller that sometimes has the intimate feel of a four-hander. The quarrel between the adults confronted with the fact that their children have committed a monstrous act is punctuated with flashbacks both to the crime and to the childhood of brothers Paul and Stan. The film reveals the power struggle between two couples as they shift alliances. Should they face up to their responsibility or deny it? How do you make the right decision and what price does the next generation have to pay for it?