This film was quite enjoyable and very thrilling, but I'm somewhat disappointed by its unfulfilled potential.
Let's just say that the acting, directing, visuals, sound, everything was perfect, not standing ovation material (I don't believe people give standing ovations for editing or sound), but it was transparent. I saw the story and I was completely immersed. I did not notice any of the ingredients but that's the point, to get you in the story. Film is not a competition between visual artists, editors, cinematographers in seeing who can stand out. It's a team effort and in this case, it works very well.
I have a tiny issue to nitpick with the editing - the passage of time is not shown. We don't know how much time has passed between events. Sometimes it's months, sometimes it's years. We have to wait for someone to say "It's been 3 years now" but that's not a great way of telling the story. "Show not tell" is the oft-repeated rule and as tiring as it is to hear and read, it needs to be repeated. There are many ways to show the passing of time. Montages, time-lapses, season changes, changes in hair or appearance. The flaw is that they showed Mathieu ask Alice on a date and then he meets her parents in their home. One would think that it's a few months into the relationship (meeting the parents for the first time) but it is later revealed that it is 3 years later. If the confusion of time were part of the story, that would be good, but it isn't.
That tiny flaw is not something I would deduce points for, however.
My real disappointment is that the start of this film, the plagiarist's road to fame was 10/10 and I wanted more. If it had continued down that road, I would put this film as one of my top 20 of all time. However, sadly, the film went another direction and made it a story of blackmail, extortion and a murder investigation.
We already have tons of films about blackmail and extortion. People have a tape, a USB key, a photo, a witness, and someone has to find a way to buy silence and bury the truth. There are so many films about this topic. So many films about someone burying a body, faking a disappearance, worrying about the body resurfacing, day-dreaming and hallucinating of blood, seeing cops everywhere.
I enjoyed the first part of the film so much, the hopeful artist, the plagiarist, his meteoric rise, the creating a persona from interviews and quotes. I wanted that to continue. I wanted him to double down on that, to go the route of Catch Me If You Can. He plagiarized his first novel with zero money, now he should be able to do it again and again, using his wealth to dig for the next novel, to scour writers workshops for ideas, to travel the world in search of another unpublished gem to steal.
I wanted to see a film where a plagiarist realizes that a career of plagiarism is a full-time job. He has to keep publishing to keep up his lifestyle or people would call him a one-hit wonder. Instead, we have a film about a rich person trying to bury a secret. What the secret was (affair, real name, identity, criminal record) is irrelevant in this film.
He is just a rich person struggling with debts, a secret, extortion and all he wants is to keep living in luxury.
An enjoyable film nonetheless, even though I wished for more originality.
Let's just say that the acting, directing, visuals, sound, everything was perfect, not standing ovation material (I don't believe people give standing ovations for editing or sound), but it was transparent. I saw the story and I was completely immersed. I did not notice any of the ingredients but that's the point, to get you in the story. Film is not a competition between visual artists, editors, cinematographers in seeing who can stand out. It's a team effort and in this case, it works very well.
I have a tiny issue to nitpick with the editing - the passage of time is not shown. We don't know how much time has passed between events. Sometimes it's months, sometimes it's years. We have to wait for someone to say "It's been 3 years now" but that's not a great way of telling the story. "Show not tell" is the oft-repeated rule and as tiring as it is to hear and read, it needs to be repeated. There are many ways to show the passing of time. Montages, time-lapses, season changes, changes in hair or appearance. The flaw is that they showed Mathieu ask Alice on a date and then he meets her parents in their home. One would think that it's a few months into the relationship (meeting the parents for the first time) but it is later revealed that it is 3 years later. If the confusion of time were part of the story, that would be good, but it isn't.
That tiny flaw is not something I would deduce points for, however.
My real disappointment is that the start of this film, the plagiarist's road to fame was 10/10 and I wanted more. If it had continued down that road, I would put this film as one of my top 20 of all time. However, sadly, the film went another direction and made it a story of blackmail, extortion and a murder investigation.
We already have tons of films about blackmail and extortion. People have a tape, a USB key, a photo, a witness, and someone has to find a way to buy silence and bury the truth. There are so many films about this topic. So many films about someone burying a body, faking a disappearance, worrying about the body resurfacing, day-dreaming and hallucinating of blood, seeing cops everywhere.
I enjoyed the first part of the film so much, the hopeful artist, the plagiarist, his meteoric rise, the creating a persona from interviews and quotes. I wanted that to continue. I wanted him to double down on that, to go the route of Catch Me If You Can. He plagiarized his first novel with zero money, now he should be able to do it again and again, using his wealth to dig for the next novel, to scour writers workshops for ideas, to travel the world in search of another unpublished gem to steal.
I wanted to see a film where a plagiarist realizes that a career of plagiarism is a full-time job. He has to keep publishing to keep up his lifestyle or people would call him a one-hit wonder. Instead, we have a film about a rich person trying to bury a secret. What the secret was (affair, real name, identity, criminal record) is irrelevant in this film.
He is just a rich person struggling with debts, a secret, extortion and all he wants is to keep living in luxury.
An enjoyable film nonetheless, even though I wished for more originality.