After five years out of the spotlight, a talented, but troubled pianist returns to the stage to pay tribute to his enigmatic late instructor. Moments into the performance, he sees a threat on his score: play a single wrong note (or involve the police) and either he or his wife will be shot by a sniper hiding in the concert hall. This limited-time-and-space concept is the basis of this engaging, at times ingenious, and always very chic suspense film which calls to mind Brian De Palma at the height of his creative power in the 1970s and early 1980s and is far superior to the iconic director's actual recent output. The film has a ball within its small sandbox, generating enormous claustrophobic unease and rendering the opulent space of the theatre menacing and mysterious. Elijah Wood is a well-cast lead, easily playing the required notes of desperation and fear. Despite a twist here and a turn there, the plot is not revelatory, but it does not need to be because the high style and in-the-moment suspense rivet.

B+