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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
great fun -- a romantic thriller with a comic edge, June 26, 2008
This review is from: Roman de gare / Crossed Tracks (Original French Version - With English Subtitles) (DVD)
A romantic thriller with an acerbically comic edge. Incisive, compelling performances. A plot that, even if you know what's coming (I didn't), is great fun and executed with aplomb.
Roman de Gare is a brilliant movie, brilliant as in sharp and dazzling and diverting. I loved the new actress (Audrey Dana) who played Huguette -- she was like a fugitive from an Eric Rohmer movie! Dominique Pinon is the one taffy-faced actor who could convincingly manage all the directions that the movie's plot pulls him in. The timeless Fanny Ardant dishes up sophistication and duplicity in spades.
What's satisfying about the movie is that its strengths come from character, dialog, plot, and situational acuity.
The movie also captures its various locales expertly -- the loneliness and edginess of the highway, the warmth and raucousness of the bucolic interlude, and the elegance and claustrophobia of the yacht. The way the tone of the film shifts in each of these settings is part of the film's fun. It's almost like a trilogy contained within a single film.
The soundtrack pulsates with the brass and syncopation and suavity of Gilbert Becaud ... music that manages to sound modern and nostalgic all at once.
A.O. Scott of the New York Times was inexplicably dismissive of this movie. Don't you believe him. He's obviously jaded, it would seem time for him to take a sabbatical for the next year or two. Bravos all around.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
excellent French thriller, June 3, 2008
This review is from: Roman de gare / Crossed Tracks (Original French Version - With English Subtitles) (DVD)
Judith Ralitzer (Fanny Ardant) is a novelist searching for her latest idea, with the help of her ghost writer, Pierre Laclos (Dominique Pinon). Pierre will accidentally meet Huguette on a highway and embark on an interesting journey with her, which will lead to his writing a novel surrounding events he's heard about: a serial killer on the loose, his brother-in-law's disappearance, and finally his life as a ghost writer.
At the beginning, the spectator wonders if Pinon's character is the serial killer, or someone else. Well done! This isn't defined clearly until near the end.
A good thriller where everything slowly starts to make sense, and the pieces start to fit. Nice ending. Good cast. Decent direction by Lelouch.
For a French suspense thriller, I found the script well layered and not deceptive. You just have to get into it, and wait for the story to develop.
It was great to see a movie that didn't need a 200-million-dollar budget, or guns, or everlasting car chases.
An entertaining thriller.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
For young and old, November 6, 2008
This review is from: Roman de gare / Crossed Tracks (Original French Version - With English Subtitles) (DVD)
I saw this movie in a theater in DC and loved it from the first second to the last. I'm also a younger theater goer, so I think it can translate to any audience. I found it thrilling and the twists made for a very satisfying ending. I also enjoyed the emotional content...a definite must see!
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