The Big Picture (2010)
"L'homme qui voulait vivre sa vie" (original title)

Paul Exben is a success story - partner in one of Paris's most exclusive law firms, big salary, big house, glamorous wife and two sons straight out of a Gap catalog. But when he finds out ... See full summary »

Director:

Eric Lartigau

Writers:

Eric Lartigau (scenario, adaptation and dialogue), Laurent de Bartillat (scenario, adaptation and dialogue),

Stars:

Romain Duris, Marina Foïs, Niels Arestrup

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Romain Duris	...	Paul Exben
Marina Foïs	...	Sarah Exben
Niels Arestrup	...	Bartholomé
Branka Katic	...	Ivana
Catherine Deneuve	...	Anne
Eric Ruf	...	Grégoire Kremer
Enzo Caçote	...	Hugo Exben
Luka Antic	...	Baptiste
Rachel Desmarest	...	Fiona Exben (as Rachel Berger)
Esteban Carvajal-Alegria	...	Valéry Grey (as Esteban Carvajal Alegria)
Florence Muller	...	Clarisse
Jean-Paul Bathany	...	Jean-Claude
Carole Weiss	...	Annie
Philippe Dusseau	...	Emmanuel
Olivier Rogers	...	Pierre

Storyline

Paul Exben is a success story - partner in one of Paris's most exclusive law firms, big salary, big house, glamorous wife and two sons straight out of a Gap catalog. But when he finds out that Sarah, his wife, is cheating on him with Greg Kremer, a local photographer, a rush of blood provokes Paul into a fatal error. Standing over the corpse of his wife's lover, Paul knows that his perfect life has gone for good. But by assuming the dead man's identity and fleeing for an isolated part of former Yugoslavia on the beautiful Adriatic coast, Paul gets another shot at being himself and, at last, seeing the big picture.

---

Plot Keywords:

author cameo | foreign language adaptation | based on novel

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Europa Corp. [France]

Country:

France

Language:

French Serbian English

Release Date:

12 October 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

Em Busca de Uma Nova Vida

Filming Locations:

17 Avenue de La Motte-Picquet, Paris 7, Paris, France

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$13,760 (USA) (12 October 2012)

Gross:

$158,411 (USA) (14 December 2012)

Company Credits

Production Co:

EuropaCorp, TF1 Films Production, CiBy 2000

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

"Hell Freezes Over"
Written by Mark Williams / Patrick Sturrock
Editions Music House - K Music

User Reviews

Absorbing-to-nothing French thriller adaptation

Eric Lartigau's thriller is a cunning film. The tension remains right up to the end, although it's also rather disappointing that it has gone nowhere. Romain Duris' Paul has either got some sort of deep-hidden secret (popped into relief by the suggestion that he had an exciting creative career ahead of him that he abandoned) that is to be revealed or we are to discover some moral to his pursuit of 'the life he wants to live' (to borrow the French title).

Instead the film is actually in each of the episodes along the way that Lartigau concocts; how Paul builds something from a situation that seems simple and moves on from it when it becomes complicated. It's fluid, liberating but strangely unedifying. I liked the editing and the location shooting of both Paris and South East Europe. Niels Arestrup puts in a small turn later on which is as good as anything else in the film, including Catherine Deneuve's professional appearance. Slick but slippery 5/10