Not the prequel to See How They Run that the title may suggest, this is a French thriller that looks at a quest for revenge, the not-so-subtle-art of some aggressive con work, and what people will do to protect others they end up caring about.
Jean Yanne is Simon, a seemingly everyday guy, a sales rep, who ends up hunting down the people responsible for the death of his friend, a police officer named Mickey (Yvon Bak). Meanwhile, Marx (Jean-Louis Trintignant) is shaping a wary young man (Mathieu Kassovitz) into a competent protégé. These people are inevitably due to collide together, but will any resolution actually prove satisfying for anyone involved?
Directed by Jacques Audiard, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Alain Le Henry (based on a book, “Triangle”, by Teri White), this is a decent feature debut. Audiard may have delivered much stronger work over the last 10-15 years (check out his filmography, there are numerous greats to choose from), but he delivers an impressive character study here, couched in the trappings of a standard con/crime movie. The source material being titled “Triangle” clarifies how strong the bonds between the main characters become, and the strong emotion running throughout many scenes makes this as much about passion as it is about criminal activity, which allows viewers to filter or tilt the film in a way that blurs the lines between love and hate.
Yanne and Trintignant are both very good in their roles, but Kassovitz is even better, helped by the fact that he ends up where he is just because he is so eager to please. It’s a good job that these three leads are so good because the film rests on their shoulders. Other people pop in and out, but the focus always remains on that central triangle, even while they spend so much time not realising that they have been locked into shape since that fateful murder.
If you like the work of Audiard then this is recommended. Just be warned, however, that it isn’t up there with his best work, but that is because his best work sets a very high bar. There’s less to enjoy here in terms of visual style, nor is it the best score from Alexandre Desplat (a relatively early job for him, considering how large his body of work is), but the writing is strong enough to make up for those minor failings, and the cast serve it well.
7/10
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