FILM-FORWARD.COMReviews of Recent Independent, Foreign, & Documentary Films in Theaters and DVD/Home Video
THE BEAT THAT MY HEART SKIPPED
Rising French star Romain Duris' high-energy performance alone justifies
director Jacques Audiard's remake of James Toback's grimy 1978 melodrama
Fingers. Transplanted from New York City to Paris, the story remains
by and large the same, and the mood equally as threatening, but with a more
vulnerable (and less misogynistic) central character. The harsh
rough-and-tumble nocturnal activities of Thomas (Duris) and his real estate
co-investors instantly set the tone - planting rats in buildings to
terrify tenants and destroying apartments before immigrants squatters move
in. A collector and a fixer, Thomas wants to free himself from his thuggish
slumlord father's shadow and pursue a career as a classical pianist. A
chance encounter with a colleague of his deceased mother, who was a pianist, reignites
his musical passion, much to his father's skepticism. But at 28, Thomas is too
old to be considered for a conservatory. Instead, he ambitiously resolves to
become a soloist, tutored by a young Vietnamese woman (a scene-stealing
Linh-Dan Pham), who speaks no French.
Unlike Harvey Keitel in the original, Duris has more of an effortless
confidence, whether he's practicing his Bach in a bar while listening to
techno on his headphones or beating a deadbeat to a pulp as he settles a score
for his father. The actor seamlessly bridges the two halves of his
character. With a hip swagger, Duris
entirely and physically inhabits his role, almost a rarity these days among
young film actors. (Perhaps his closest American counterpart is Liev
Schreiber.) Thanks to Duris, the black-and-white conflict is believable. But
unlike Fingers, Audiard's ensemble is uniformly up to the lead
actor's performance, especially Niels Arestrup as Thomas' manipulative father.
And much more believable is the relationship between Thomas and the women in
his life, each holding her own and seeing through Thomas' machismo facade.
Less a thriller (although there are plenty of suspenseful moments) and more
a character study, The Beat That My Heart Skipped provides a showcase
for Duris, just as Audiard's last film, Read My Lips, had for
Emmanuelle Devos (who also appears in Beat). Kent Turner
DVD Extras: They range from fascinating (some of the deleted scenes) to frivolous (the
ubiquitous coming attractions). The deleted sequences further emphasize the
effect music has on Tom as he mimicks his piano
playing while doing daily routines, tuning out everything around him.
No clues, except for the context, are given as to where these scenes would
have been placed. Some are unedited, and others irrelevant (like Tom
masturbating next to the piano). The interviews, especially with the
producer, are worthwhile for a viewer with a lot of patience. Though many production details are revealed, such as the film's inspiration and the casting
of Romain Duris, no visuals accompany these tidbits. And the rehearsals
provide a glimpse of what the actors are like off screen but don't do much
for the movie itself. Michael Wong
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