Film review: Mindscape - Mark Strong stars in psychological thriller

"The mind is a terrible thing to taste," declared industrial metal band Ministry when naming their fourth album and, judging by 2013 psychological thriller (HBO, Friday at 9pm), they pretty much hit the nail on the head.

This intriguing, old-fashioned, sci-fi-tinged thriller is the directorial feature film debut of Spanish filmmaker Jorge Dorado.

Mark Strong (The Imitation Game) stars as John Washington, a memory consultant - a kind of head detective - who has the ability to enter a person's "mindscape" and experience their memories, solving long forgotten mysteries and revealing their secrets. It's a handy skill to have but the poor chap has his own haunted past to deal with.

After suffering a stroke during a particularly traumatic mind trip, Washington loses his job and enters a downward spiral of excess, chain-smoking himself hoarse and knocking back hard liquor like it's weak tea. Offered a lifeline to restart his career by his former boss, Washington meets Anna Greene (Taissa Farmiga, above; American Horror Story), a brilliant but deeply troubled teenager who, accused of attempted triple murder, has gone on hunger strike. Anna has her own special mind skill; she can predict what other people will say, an ability Washington brushes off with indifference during their therapy sessions.

Entering her mind to find out what is troubling her, Washington is strangely drawn to Anna and his suspicions start to point towards her wealthy and controlling parents. Certainly all is not well in Anna's head and, as Washington slowly takes her side, more dark inner secrets are revealed and he struggles to determine whether she is a victim of trauma or simply a sociopath.

Farmiga neatly walks the line between teenage innocent and bunny-boiling nutjob and it's her strong, hypnotic performance that keeps us second guessing Anna's true motives. Strong does an admirable job, too, playing against his usual tough gangster type, but his grim, intense Washington isn't the sharpest of detectives and the viewer can spot the plot twists and final outcome sooner than he can.