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I haven't read any critiques of this film, these are my thoughts unfiltered. I knew the director was Québec filmmaker Denis Villeneuve which was of interest to me, also read a brief synopsis and knew it premiered at TIFF to overwhelmingly positive reviews. That was the sum total of my knowledge going into this movie.
The film starts ominously enough, the Lord's Prayer is being intoned in the background while a rifle scope is being centered on a young doe soon to be a carcass sloppily thrown in the back of a pickup truck. It's been a good kill, a clean kill, a father is happy the son took the kill and didn't make a mess of it. Innocence and sinning, who is innocent and who are or will be the sinners are heavily prefigured in this opening shot.
The plot is a seemingly straightforward one. Two little girls have been kidnapped on Thanksgiving Day, the who and the how are the major drivers of the action which will unfold.
The two main actors, Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal the first as the grieving dad and the second as the dogged detective investigating the case both do a masterful job. The actors in the secondary roles are all effective as well.
The film is not boring, although the pacing flags a little in the middle part, the suspense remains unrelenting and the ending is a shocker I didn't really anticipate. When a film is beautifully directed one doesn't notice the little holes, which upon later reflection, suddenly seem to surface. The writing is not as solid and airtight as I originally thought but pointing these holes out would give up too much of the plot, I'll leave it up to future film goers to figure these out on their own.
A few things stayed with me which had more to do with atmosphere. The bleakness, the despair, the ugliness not merely because of the subject matter, kidnapping of a child, bleak enough, but also the ambiance of the place. This is not the happy U.S. of A. It feels depressed. The one family is white blue collar, small entrepreneur, their house is modest. The dad is religious, it was his voice intoning the Lord's Prayer at the beginning. He's also a fervent survivalist, their basement is filled with stocked goods in preparedness for whatever is sure to come. This family is friends with a black family who appears a little more upscale than them. They have a nicer house, the dad whose job is never mentioned comports himself in a manner which appears to suggest a more intellectual sort of occupation. I found this friendship odd simply because I know enough about the America of today to know that it is still very much fractured along racial lines, the racial divide has never really been erased. What are the odds of a deeply Christian, blue collar, survivalist family hanging out with Afro-American best friends? I was wondering if the script mentioned that or if it was just added on as an attempt to soften our perception of the aggrieved dad played by Hugh Jackman. Obviously the dads are both aggrieved but they go about initially dealing with the kidnapping in very different ways.
Getting back to the atmosphere which is beautifully captured in long and tight shots. There is the brightly lit diner where one lowly patron, the detective, is eating his Thanksgiving meal. The call to action almost freeing him from this ordeal. There is the Spirit and Wine store, lonely outpost waiting for customers who are sure to show up. The mega shopping store no doubt stocked with Chinese imports, not a Wal-Mart, but very similar, welcoming you to the desolate suburbs. The whole place simply reeks of desperation and leaves no doubt in one's mind about the decade. This is definitely 2013 and things have not gone well, there is reason to fear.
I found a few scenes very difficult to watch. I don't like scenes of torture and although the camera tries not to linger the scenes have enough of an impact to stick with you visually once the film is over. It's not an easy film to love but it's an easy film to admire for the craftsmanship.
Went to see Jappeloup last night. Jappeloup is the name of the horse who became a semi-national treasure in France. The story is loosely based on the life of rider Pierre Durand, his family and the other people around him. Pierre Durand is not portrayed as a very likable character, he doesn't respond well to humiliation and defeat which is a bit of a drag in a sport as competitive as show jumping. The more likable hero is the dad played by the always reliable Daniel Auteuil as a man full of optimism with an unfortunate nasty addiction to nicotine. The real hero is the horse Jappeloup, tiny for a show jumper, not a thorough bred but who could fly over obstacles easily because of his small size. It's great family entertainment with a positive message although it went on a little too long for my taste. I would have taken the editors' scissors to some sections and been a little more ruthless in my cuts. Didn't like the choice of banal American songs which were chosen to highlight the more emotional parts of the story except for one sung by Cat Stevens. The photography was beautiful, Guillaume Canet did a good job of portraying a rather petulant, mostly pissed off Pierre Durant while some secondary characters like Raphaele and her dad are simply luminous. The French country side around Bordeaux also looks and feels vibrantly beautiful. I would score it a 3 out of 5.
