Appropriately, Beyond the Hills is both intense and austere. The wintry terrain and cash-strapped convent are painted in black, gray and white; Alina's blue Reebok running suit is so exotic it might as well be fuchsia. The sound design is intricate, but devoid of added music until the final credits.
Mungiu again proves himself a master of naturalistic choreography, directing long takes of seamless action, often with a half-dozen or more players in such confined spaces as a chapel, kitchen or hospital room. Whether showing everyday rituals or their frantic upendings, the film is utterly believable.
What's less successful is the narrative structure, which lacks 4 Months' propulsion. Alina's outbursts lose their power as they're repeated, and the story's outcome seems anticlimactic. Ultimately, the bleak universe conjured by Beyond the Hills is more compelling than what happens in it.