A protagonist leading a double life as a hard man with artistic aspirations as a pianist neither original nor particularly plausible, but perhaps an interesting premise for a film in the hands of a promising director.
Overbearing sentimentality seems to afflict so many films these days, and opportunity for cliché here was rife. A happy ending would have been nice, of course, but entirely unrealistic and predictable. The film does revolve around a slightly cringe-worthy father-mother-son emotional triangle, although to his credit, Audiard does (largely) side-step such temptations. The ending is in fact particularly well crafted and shrewd, and Romain Duris in the lead role is convincing in pulling off his double persona, so the film does succeed in attaining a much needed degree of realism.
What's more, Audiard is clearly a talented director. The hand-held camera work comes across well, and its play of focus on background lights, particularly on distant car headlamps, serves as an interesting motif throughout. I also particularly liked the nods to film noir all those profile shots of Duris with only the lower half of his face visible which lend Duris' character a brooding power.
Several aspects of the plot, however, were weak, which meant the film didn't hang entirely straight. Tom's chancing upon his mother's agent who happens to give him an audition straight off seems rather clumsy, and his friendship with his estate-agent buddies is mysterious they just seem so horrible, and Duris clearly has an ounce of moral fibre in him, so why attach himself to them? Of course, the film puts it down to his loyalty to his crooked father, but this too seems a little thin. Neither is there much substance in his adoration of the piano he sits wiggling his fingers for hours on end, wrapped in a classical cocoon, yet listens to hard electronica whenever he wants to relax.
This is a film worth watching then, with plenty of creative spark, but I'm not sure it lives up to the hype generated by impressed critics. 6/7 out of 10
Overbearing sentimentality seems to afflict so many films these days, and opportunity for cliché here was rife. A happy ending would have been nice, of course, but entirely unrealistic and predictable. The film does revolve around a slightly cringe-worthy father-mother-son emotional triangle, although to his credit, Audiard does (largely) side-step such temptations. The ending is in fact particularly well crafted and shrewd, and Romain Duris in the lead role is convincing in pulling off his double persona, so the film does succeed in attaining a much needed degree of realism.
What's more, Audiard is clearly a talented director. The hand-held camera work comes across well, and its play of focus on background lights, particularly on distant car headlamps, serves as an interesting motif throughout. I also particularly liked the nods to film noir all those profile shots of Duris with only the lower half of his face visible which lend Duris' character a brooding power.
Several aspects of the plot, however, were weak, which meant the film didn't hang entirely straight. Tom's chancing upon his mother's agent who happens to give him an audition straight off seems rather clumsy, and his friendship with his estate-agent buddies is mysterious they just seem so horrible, and Duris clearly has an ounce of moral fibre in him, so why attach himself to them? Of course, the film puts it down to his loyalty to his crooked father, but this too seems a little thin. Neither is there much substance in his adoration of the piano he sits wiggling his fingers for hours on end, wrapped in a classical cocoon, yet listens to hard electronica whenever he wants to relax.
This is a film worth watching then, with plenty of creative spark, but I'm not sure it lives up to the hype generated by impressed critics. 6/7 out of 10