de battre mon coeur s’est arrete
The Beat my Heart Skipped
This is a French film recommended by my roommate. I was not disappointed. The film itself draws you in and holds your attention through neck-breaking changes of pace. The story is layered, but only one character develops. Obviously this is the protagonist and is played by Duris extremely well. The secondary and tertiary characters just orbit Duris, pulling his personality in different directions, but never changing themselves. This is fortunate because if more time had been spent on the secondary characters it would have been a long and drab film.
Duris plays a real estate broker who resorts willingly to underhanded activities in order to get deals through and make quick cash. His father is a thug in the same business. At first it appears he will be following in his paternal footsteps, but when chance leads him into a conversation with his late mother’s agent, he begins to fantasize about a life as a concert pianist. The movie follows his struggle to keep up with both paths.
The directing is spot-on. There are even humorous asides (such as his conversation with the Russian or his partner’s choice of instrument) that lighten the mood before the pace quickens again. It’s the changes of pace that make it a quality film. As it starts to slow action will break out. In this way the film avoids being boring and doesn’t desensitize with continuous intensity.
The transition of Duris’ character is well done and dense. It makes for a great film to watch in any mood.
****