French crime-drama, an adaptation of the Douglas Kennedy novel, about a man whose romantic jealousy pushes him to drastic measures. Stars Romain Duris (The Beat My Heart Skipped) and Catherine Deneuve (Potiche).
Paul (Duris) is a successful man – partner in one of Paris' most exclusive law firms, big salary, big house, glamorous wife (Marina Foïs) and two picture perfect sons. But his life turns when he gets two bombshells: his mentor (Deneuve) is terminally ill and his wife is cheating on him. When Paul confronts the man, a scuffle inadvertently leads to death. With his former life in tatters, Paul removes traces of his crime, assumes the dead man's identity – a photographer – and flees for an isolated part of former Yugoslavia on the Adriatic coast.
Like its fugitive protagonist, The Big Picture leaves behind its proverbial roots to journey somewhere else: it starts out with the makings of a thriller, cycling through familiar elements such as passion crimes and identity theft, but eventually settles into redemptive character drama mode with shades of Michelangelo Antonioni’s existential classic The Passenger. Adapted from Douglas Kennedy’s novel, it’s a thoroughly absorbing and well-acted film, casting Romain Duris (Heartbreaker) as Paul Exben, a high-flying lawyer who’s forced to swap the comforts of a cushy job and family life for a constantly shifting existence fraught with uncertainty and danger.
Director Eric Lartigau wisely avoids narration – the bane of many novel-to-screen adaptations – to convey Exben’s passages of new-found isolation, choosing instead to tell his story through strong visuals, atmospheric locations and perhaps most of effective of all, Duris’ gripping, nuanced performance. Practically present in every frame, Duris’ face is blessed with a kind of scruffy Vincent Gallo-like magnetism and vulnerability, and you can always read what Exben thinking or feeling at any given moment: the pain of leaving his children behind, the constant fear of being exposed, the sense of liberation and contentment when he reinvents himself as a documentary photographer. Pacing flags towards the end and occasionally the film plays fast and loose with plausibility but it finishes on a graceful, humanistic note, if also fittingly ambiguous and potentially divisive enough that it doesn’t feel so patly resolved.
By Aaron Yap, Flicks.co.nz
As a fan of Douglas Kennedy's novels, I was nervous about how this would convert to the big screen, but this was done with class. Either I forgot the exact way the book went, or else the filming kept things suspense-ridden enough to sidetrack me but I loved, and didn't expect some of the twists and turns. Romain Duris was superb in the role. If only all book-to-movie adaptations could be carried off so well!
Romain Duris is a star. Like Sean Connery, Cary Grant, Jimy Stewart kind of star. Just when you think you know them, there's something so spontaeneous and nasty that you get to know them even better. He holds this film together with the gravity of a much older, more experienced actor, with empathy and whippet thin tailored suits.
From start to finish this film keeps you on the edge of your seat with unsuspecting twists and turns. Romain Duris is a remarkable performer in the way that he can transform himself in his character while still conveying all emotion in his appearance. The Big Picture is definitely worth seeing on the big screen with its beautiful cinematography. A great film all round.
A few plot holes hold back what is otherwise a well cast and compelling picture.
The film, brilliantly cast and making effective use of locations in Paris, Brittany and Montenegro, is as spellbinding as Minghella's film [The Talented Mr Ripley]...
Good film, bad ending
Pushed to the edge, and over...
The excellent Romain Duris reverts from the rom-com hero of Heartbreaker to his previous darker characters (as in The Beat that My Heart Skipped and Dans Paris), playing a man for whom tragedy provides an unexpected opportunity to become someone completely new. Provoking the universal question of "What would I do in this situation?", the story races from one tense episode to the next, making it difficult to watch without a constant tightening in the stomach.
We've been told the NZ release date for this flick is Thursday, 14th Jul 2011.
Release date: July 14th 2011.
We haven't received times for this movie in this location yet. However these are updated as cinemas announce them, so check back soon. Hopefully the lovely cinemas in your location will choose to play it shortly. ~Ed.
