Ohne Schuld

TOUT POUR ELLE (Anything for Her) was the original story and film from which THE NEXT THREE DAYS was adapted. In many ways this film is at least as strong as the Paul Haggis version with Russell Crowe. Here the credits are due to the imagination of writers Fred Cavayé and Guillaume Lemans and directed by Fred Cavayé. It is a very fine character driven thriller that while it may appear incredible to most, it is nonetheless an involving story of a man's love and commitment to his wife.

Julien (an impressive Vincent Lindon) is a schoolteacher who has a happy home life with his beautiful wife Lisa (Diane Kruger) and son Oscar (Lancelot Roch). During a quiet evening at home they are disturbed by policemen who arrest Lisa for a murder she claims she did not commit. Jump three years and Julien has been working with lawyers, spending their paltry savings, on getting appeals to get Lisa released from jail. He gets moral support from his parents (Liliane Rovère and Olivier Perrier) but sees his family falling apart. After three years have passed and when all legal portals fail, Lisa attempts suicide and Julien decides the only way to get Lisa out of prison is to aid in her escape. He visits writer Henri Pasquet (Olivier Marchal) who has escaped from prison several times and outlines the dangers AND the only secure methods for affecting a prison escape. John slowly and methodically prepares for the escape, gaining money by contacting drug lord Mouss (Alaa Safi), commits some crimes of his own as he masterminds his plan to successfully extract Lisa from prison. There are many twists and turns to the story, well written subplots and unexpected coincidences, all populated with a very strong cast of capable actors. It is a tense little French film that may not have the better known cast of its later American successor, but it works on a very different level and is a solid psychological thriller.

Grady Harp

Julien (Vincent Lindon) is an unprepossessing French teacher, happily married to Lisa (Diane Kruger), a wife he deeply loves. Their idyllic suburban life is rudely interrupted, however, when the police shockingly crash their home and arrest Lisa on suspicion of the brutal murder of her boss. With Lisa's fingerprints on the weapon, and the victim's blood on her jacket, she is found guilty and sentenced to twenty years in prison. If you like your suspense powerful and unnerving, do not hesitate to seek out Anything For Her (Pour Elle), the debut effort of French director Fred Cavayé, an enormously entertaining thriller that delivers a high level of satisfaction.

Imprisoned for a crime she probably did not commit (the director offers two possible scenarios but it is clear which one is the more likely), Lisa, still proclaiming her innocence, faces long, dark days ahead without her husband and their young son Oscar (Lancelot Roch). Overwhelmed with sadness, Julien becomes single-minded in his drive to reunite the family. After three years, when his attorney tells him that Lisa stands no chance before the Appeals Court and Lisa becomes suicidal, refusing to take her insulin shots, Julien knows that he must take matters into his own hands and will stop at nothing to accomplish his goal.

Locating an ex-con who has written books about his attempts to break out of jail, Julien convinces him to tutor him on the do's and don'ts of prison escape, telling the ex-con that he wants to teach the author's experience to his students. His ultimate plan, though, is not revealed either to Lisa, Julien's parents (Liliane Rovere and Olivier Perrier), or to the audience, which serves to greatly enhance the suspense. To save the woman he loves from certain death in prison, however, Julien must transform himself from laid-back school teacher to action hero, pushing himself far beyond the limits of what is reasonable. While attempting to obtain false papers and new identities, he comes into contact with some very unpleasant local criminal types and finds himself no longer reluctant to use violence to accomplish his ends.

Supported by an excellent script by the director, outstanding cinematography by Alain Duplaintier, and a moody score by Klaus Badelt, Anything For Her is entertaining, riveting, and ultimately a very moving love story. None of it would be very convincing, however, if not for the outstanding performances of Lindon and Kruger, especially Lindon whose sudden personality change requires great skill to pull off. Lindon's eyes convey powerful emotion that is not desperation but a strong and unyielding determination that serves as a catalyst for the events that build to the film's heart pounding climax. Although Anything For Her has been criticized for being "implausible", when an individual's every act is consumed with passion and overwhelming intention, then the implausible will most certainly become the expected.

So, what would YOU do if your spouse is convicted on a murder charge and sentenced to 20 years in jail? The film explores to what lengths someone might go, and it takes the viewer on a journey that is anything but expected. And it does it in convincing style and fashion and has you glued to your seat from beginning to end.

OK, Julien enters a world that makes him do things that we should by rights not find acceptable. And yet, one can do nothing but root for him to succeed, regardless of his methods.

I absolutely loved the power and speed of this film. It's action-packed, but also has a lot of depth.

A superb thriller throughout!

A stylish , complex movie driven by character , dealing with a high school teacher with no legal means left to him , as he devises a daring plan to rescue his wrongfully imprisoned wife from jail . Based on the original idea by Guillaume Lemans , this is a perfect thriller being starred by an all-star-cast as the French Vincent Lindon and German Diane Kruger . Being remade in American version (2010) by Paul Haggis with Russell Crowe and Elizabeth Banks . A teacher named Julien (Vincent Lindon , in American version played by Russell Crowe), is happily married to his sweetheart wife , Lisa (Diane Kruger , she spent several months developing the character which had a significantly smaller role in the original draft). When her despised chief is murdered, she is the main suspect . Then , a clear evidence convicts Lara Brennan of killing . Lisa is sentenced to 20 years of jail for murder charges. While she's in prison , her husband cares for their young son and plots a twisted plan , as he decides to break her out. Julien consults a successful escape artist turned author, and he starts planning and decides to carry out his scheme . He'll need to disrupt jail routine, obtain IDs and passports, know how to escape a dragnet, find a new place to live , and squirrel away cash ; as he spends the next few years trying to get her released . The essential question that lies in the film is the following : How far would you go for the one you love ?

This exciting film contains action , violence , thrills , suspense and plot twists . Excellent thriller in which nothing is the way it seems , the atmosphere is already tense and the twists and turns are the best part of this movie . In other ways, it feels like a tribute to Alfred Hitchcock, full of attractive characters and edge-of-your-seat intrigue . The film was noteworthy for casting some of the finest actors in France including Vincent Lindon as a husband whose life is turned upside down when his wife is accused of a murder , along with Olivier Marchal , an actor/director who has directed sensational Fench thrillers , just like "36th Precinct" , ¨Mr73¨ as good as this ¨Anything for her¨ . And , of course , a gorgeous as well as good actress Diane Kruger as the woman wrongfully condemned ; in fact ,Fred Cavayé chose Diane Kruger for her radiant beauty, as it would make her character's ordeal all the more powerful .All the prison scenes and the studio interiors were shot in chronological order as Fred Cavayé felt it would be important for the actors and the evolution of their characters. Good production design , the prison seen in the film is actually a combination of three filming locations: the exteriors are that of the Meaux prison, some 40 kilometers east of Paris, the entrance corridors are part of the Bibliothèque Nationale De France in Paris and the other interiors . The picture achieved big success and was Nominated César Best First Film (2009) and considered to be the best thriller of the year in which you'll leave the cinema shaken and moved . Excellent soundtrack by Klaus Badlet , it was recorded at London's Abbey Road Studios that elevate the emotion and the intensity of the scenes to new heights .

Fred Cavallé did a formidable job with Pour elle" ,France (original title or "Anything for Her" , International title and filming lasted eleven weeks. Fred was immediately impressed with writer Guillaume Lemans's passion for the story, and his vision, stating that he understood that the novel was a love story first , and a thriller second . The idea for the film came from Guillaume Lemans , once Fred Cavayé got involved, the two men started out by working on the film separately before sharing their ideas , Cavayé then wrote the first draft of the screenplay himself, and so on. Cavallé is a notorious writer/director and he formerly was a fashion and advertising photographer . He has only directed three films "The Players" with Oscar winner Jean Dujardin and another phenomenal thriller titled ¨Point blank ¨ with Gilles Lellouche , Gérard Lanvin and Elena Anaya . Eclectic and moving, Cavallé is a successful filmmaker .

This is a terrific film ,and does exactly what cinema should do - it makes you think, and is very entertaining. You can't just slump in front of a film like this, shovelling popcorn down your front. You have to join in. What would YOU do if someone you loved so passionately was wronged by the law? This takes it to the full extent; taking the law into your own hands - its spaghetti era Eastwood - type storytelling, told with passion, humour and guile. Cinematically, its great - how come the French so seldom make bad looking films? The acting is fantastic, with both leads acquitting themselves with great style. Like most good thriller films, it goes close to stretching credibility at times, but never veers into the ridiculous or implausible. Also weaved into the film is a vein of good fortune which drives the story along and seems in the end to be their just dessert. One small criticism; it seemed set up for a sequel - surely film makers of such taste would not lead down that road? No sequel thanks -it stands as a great piece of work as it is.Leave well alone.