Not intense enough to do justice to the subject matter, perhaps due to being a little too unrealistic. It is however very well-made, has quality cinematography and production design, and is well-acted. Forest Whitaker is a pleasure to watch, as usual, Jude Law is damn gorgeous, and the lady that plays his wife even more so. The girlfriend is not interesting, sadly.
As for the subject matter, it would have been nice if there was some explanation of how such cruelty came to be socially acceptable.