Nuit blanche

(2011) Sleepless Night/ Nuit blanche (In French with English subtitles) CRIME THRILLER/ SUSPENSE DRAMA

Co-written and directed by Frédéric Jardin, which opens with a couple of people tailing another car for the intention of stealing it's bag of dope. And of course, although they succeeded, not everything went accordingly. We soon find out later that the 2 people of Vincent (Tomer Sisley) and Manel (Laurent Stocker) who managed to steal that bag of dope at the opening, also happen to work for the French police, whose intention was to make a little extra money. But as soon as one of the 2 officers, Vincent learns that his son had been kidnapped, and is held for ransom, in exchange for the dope to be returned to the French cartels lead by night club owner, Jose Marciano (Serge Riaboukine). It becomes even more complicated when undercover officers are involved, as one of them takes the liberty by hiding that very bag that was supposed to be used for the exchange is hidden in a different spot. I like the theme, but I do not care for the execution as the movie consists of many brawls that are not too spectacular. The extra star is for it's originality and nothing else.

Before I get started, I would like to say that I thought this was a good movie. With that being said, I would like to explain why I am only rating it a 6. I live in the US, so I watched the US trailer for this film and they displayed reviews such as, "If the Oscars added a category for best action movie it would be a shoo-in", "Like Die Hard meets 24 by way of Taken" and "Crazy action that just doesn't quit".

After reading these reviews and watching the trailer, I thought this movie was going to pack a big punch and deliver along the lines that were portrayed in the reviews. I was very disappointed to find out that they were wrong. There is action in the movie, but it certainly isn't non-stop, and it takes a while to get there anyway. The reviews are very misleading and the narration from the trailer doesn't accurately describe what actually happens in the film. Do yourself a favor and do not watch this film with the idea that it is going to be an action packed thrill ride like Die Hard or Taken.

Okay, now back to what I enjoyed about the film. I felt like the story was very believable. I really liked how the entire movie took place in one location in a series of events that lasted just one day. I thought the acting was very good, especially from the lead, Tomer Sisley. I also thought the direction was good, especially during some of the fight scenes. I did have some issues, however, with the choreography on some of the fight scenes/gun fights. I felt it was well written and the delivery was good on all parts.

All in all, I really felt like it was a good movie. It just didn't live up to what I expected and what I was hoping for. I definitely recommend watching it, but I have to advise you to not get your hopes up and not to expect a gun blazing, ass-kicking fiesta.

A very nice movie, with a perfect plot, very good actors and a big direction. An old American movie,"No Way Out", (Italian title is "Senza via di scampo") is in my opinion the most similar movie for rhythm and perfection of the plot. You can't stop to see, and you don't know never how the movie will can finish, can happen absolutely all. And the end is perfect too, a very, very nice and clever solution. The bad guys are very, very bad, there are some little moment of humor and the movie goes without a moment to stop ! Go to see and/or buy the movie if you like the crime-movies, it's surely a masterpiece of this kind! Or wait an year or less to see the remake that surely Hollywood will do very soon, even with Denzel Washington in the lead-role...

This basically sums the whole plot.Now I must admit that I was expecting a father raising hell to rescue his son.In stead they go for a more realistic approach.Well,most of the time.And show a father that is desperate but limited in his actions because of the setting and is thinking about the aftermath.He is trying hard to avoid bloodshed. At times he managed to stay cool when others would have gone ballistic.But then there were moments he lost his cool.This was one of the strong points and at the same time a weak one. The actions of the main character (Tomer Sisly) are a bit uneven to say the least.I found it strange that Tomer remained so calm at times when just seconds before he lost it.Somebody so pumped with adrenalin would feel energized and keep on going.There are some scenes probably there to show the desperation.But to me they were ineffective and slowed the pace down when it needed to kick into high gear.Still we do feel for Tomer Sisly who is in this due to his own actions.But also because of an eager female cop who directly made a bad situation worse.Here is a character who decided to show initiative and then for the most time isn't capable of a simple coherent thought.Not once does she believe what Tomer says to her.At the same time she accepts every word from her superior even when the guy is clearly an ass.It helps to enhance the drama and the plot but I dislike it when within hours a character shows flat or contradicting behaviour.Most characters are a bit one dimensional which is a shame.Since a little depth to them would have increased the tension.One of the villains (Marciano played by Serge Riaboukine) who is very nasty but seems practical and at times even reasonable.But because of the one dimension he remains a cartoon like villain. Even when it is clear that the actor could easily make the character more interesting.On the other hand the focus here does lie on the desperation of a father and adding depth to other characters could have distracted us from that.In the end it does not matter much since Nuit Blance for the most part is a very effective action thriller that will keep you entertained throughout.

When it comes to action thrillers, French cinema has put out some really good stuff over the last couple of years. This is another example of great action thriller. A ride you want to take if you like movies with a high suspense level. It actually impressed Americans that much, that they made a remake of this one.

You can assume that the Remake is not as good as this, but if you don't like reading subtitles, then you might want to go check the Jamie Foxx version of this. This one is a roller-coaster that won't let you breathe. Once the action starts, there is no stopping. It's more about action and about getting things rolling. Still you got really good actors pulling things off. Sit back, watch and enjoy