Seattle property developer Brian Burke (David Duchovny) leads a charmed existence, with a gorgeous, loving wife (Berry), two adorable children, a dream house in an affluent suburb, and the affection and respect of seemingly everyone he knows.

So when a random act of violence sees Brian shot dead in the street, Audrey is left reeling at the collapse of her perfect world.

Drowning in grief, the only person she feels able to reach out to was, ironically, the sole bone of contention in her otherwise idyllic marriage.

Brian’s blindly loyal support of drug-addicted childhood friend Jerry (Del Toro) once enraged Audrey; now she takes up his cause as a way to stay connected to her dead husband.

She invites the newly clean and sober Jerry to move into the unfinished garage-come-granny flat attached to their house.

As he becomes a surrogate father to Brian’s cute but mercifully non-precocious kids and gradually takes Brian’s place amongst friends and neighbours, the increasingly resentful Audrey panics, forcing them both to a crisis that threatens to destroy the fragile peace.

Despite these jarring, all-too-human acts of self-destruction, the film saves itself from mawkish sentimentality.

Although in obvious pain, Berry’s Audrey is cold and even unsympathetic for much of the movie. And while the former beauty queen is still far too glamorous to convince as an ‘ordinary’ person, she once again shows the acting chops that won her Oscar gold for Monster’s Ball.

Alison Lohman as a fellow ex-addict determined not to let Jerry slip back into his old ways and John Carroll Lynch as a lonely neighbour reaching out to the bereaved family work wonders with their small roles.

But it is Del Toro who really carries the film. Displaying fierce intelligence behind wounded eyes, he brings dignity and wry humour to the lawyer-turned-junkie looking for a chance to redeem himself.

Director Susanne Bier’s previous films have been unflinching dissections of dysfunctional families. By smoothing over the uglier home truths, her first Hollywood outing could have been a fairly formulaic tale of loss and hope.

But brilliant performances from the entire cast elevate the drama to emotionally engaging, grown-up heights.

Ruth Ford