The Beat That My Heart Skipped ( De battre mon coeur s'est arrêté ) [DVD]

A property developer on the fringes of legality rediscovers his talent for the piano and seeks a career in music rather than as petty gangster. Sounds unconvincing on paper but onscreen this is a story that is engaging throughout. There are occasional bursts of violence but this story is character driven. The main character initially appears unsympathetic but the viewer is soon willing him on in his determined pursuit of a career which those around him, including his father, tell him is a distraction from the realities of life. Right to the very end of the film, he is pulled between the artistic and the violent.

I cannot recommend this highly enough.

On the face of it, the subject of this film seems too improbable and such a bizarre juxtaposition of themes that you can understand why it would be easily over-looked. However, this is quality piece of drama that is easily of the same calibre of other gangster films such as "Goodfellas" although there are echoes of the excellent "Long Good Friday" in the way that the criminals eventually bite of more than they can chew.

As someone who has been exploring French cinema over the last few years, I quickly came to the conclusion that Romain Duris is probably the most compelling actor of his generation and that the comparisons with Robert De Niron are not without foundation. Whilst films like "Paris" and "Moliere" are exceptional, lightweight comedies, "The beat that my heart skipped" is essentially a film about small time criminals with Duris playing a character who has become tired of following in his father's footsteps, wishing instead to pick up his talent for playing the piano. Unfortunately, the father has a new girlfriend and is looking towards his son, played by Duris, to step up to the mantle to regain a grip on the protection rackets he has been running. Essentially, the film then concentrates upon Duris' increased lack of enthusiasm for evicting illegal immigrants who can no longer afford to pay their rent and increasingly takes solice in resurrecting his piano studies with a a gentle and sympathetic teacher with a view to getting a place in a conservatory. The film chronicles the increasing conflict in interest but rapidly moves up a few gears when we learn that his father's criminal "empire" is strictly small fry when compared to the Russian gangsters who have moved on to his patch. Rather than descending into a blood bath, the film takes on the air of a tragedy as the father failing to realise the gravity of the situation with the son struggling to balance his musical talent with his criminal past which refuses to allow his to escape.

Unlikely as the plot my seem, this is a exceptional film which is totally compelling right up to the conclusion. For me, this is easily one of the top five French films I have seen working both as a piece of drama and as a thriller. However, Duris' performance as the protagonist ranks is probably amongst the best screen performances you will have seen in recent years in any language. One of the essential pieces of cinema of the first decade of the 2000's.

I picked up the region 1 DVD a few days ago, I was surprised it was on DVD as it is was fairly recently released. I had high hopes for this and it didn't disappoint. Everything about this is masterly.
The hand held camera work is brilliant particularly during the removal of squatters on the estates, especially the night sequences and the claustraphobia it creates makes it intense and unnerving.
The editing is wonderful, it keeps the pace going, the estate agents always seem to be on the move day and night and it creates that non stop energy about it but also allows the quieter more pensive moments to breath and reveal so much more.
The acting particulary Duris as Tom is brilliant and as often quoted is very reminiscent of early De Niro or Keitel. His father is a horrid old man who is out of his depth and I thought that perhaps they could have fleshed out why he had such affection for the old man, I couldn't see why Tom had such love for him after he screwed him up so much. Of particular note is the Asian piano teacher who does an incredible job given the repetative nature and restriction on her early scenes. She has great presence and uses her body brilliantly.
The music is probably the best use of music I have seen in a film for a while. There is a wide scope of genre's here as well suggesting Tom's appreciation for all types of music and the use of it in particular scenes is so well selected that you hardly notice the transition from Bach to Bloc Party it is so seemless and on point.
Audiard does a great job here in allowing things to feel as if they have developed naturally and with the roving camera it often felt like I was watching a documentary.
I would definitely recommend this and as such I will be checking out Audiard's previous films Self Made Hero and Read My Lips.