The Privileged

Xiaole (On Children) tackles class resentment and the thorny emotions of motherhood in this gentle domestic thriller set in contemporary Taiwan. Chen Yunxian is insecure about her place in Taiwanese society until her six-year-old son, Yan Peichen, makes friends with Cai Haoqian, the son of her husband’s employer. As Haoqian and Peichen bond, Hoaqian’s mother, Liang Jiaqi, takes Yunxian under her wing, inviting her to lavish parties and offering to pay Peichen’s tuition at the prestigious school Haoqian attends. What begins as an unlikely friendship curdles into something darker when Yunxian’s admiration of Jiaqi turns to obsession, which the richer woman exploits to try to help her own son get ahead in school. While the plot has considerable stakes—Yunxian jeopardizes the trust of her child and the strength of her marriage in pursuit of social status—its thriller elements are fairly muted. Instead, Xialole trains her eye on the disappointments of domesticity and the corrosive allure of wealth. Suspense fans might wish for more heat, but this quietly disturbing parental nightmare succeeds on its own terms. (Dec.)