Though Mal does not resort to punching below the belt as a rule, in one memorable sequence she strangles a man, one of the handsomest currently working in films, with only her thighs, and stares him down as she does it. Like HAYWIRE itself, it’s a moment that can be taken many different ways, from high camp to trenchant observation on how the genders interact. Either way, it makes for a film that is absorbing, tense, and unexpectedly piquant.