Barracuda

In another review of this film the writer claimed the film was boring, where as upon seeing the film I was very impressed that the film sustained my interest for the full length, despite the fact that is was all set in the one apartment.

It was very well acted and made, and the the story and ideas were incredible.

Abandon any ideals that this film is boring, as it is one of the most interesting films I have ever seen.

(and that includes 'Psycho')

Beware of neighbors!That's Rosemary's story,and that's the tenant's story,two great Polanski films.The camera tricks recall the Pole's style too.

"Barracuda" could have been filmed stage drama,since we do not go out of Rochefort's flat,but the director manages to give a cinematographic feel to it.Clement's character is not that much original however:he is akin to Norman Bates and Chabrol's hero in "les fantômes du chapelier"(1982).He has a fixation on Fred Astaire,and sometimes it's difficult to see the connection with what he does.When he captures and confines Luc,it works and it's suspenseful ,but superficially.That's what's it's not really Hitchcockian:in the Master's greatest movies,the Freudian mother rules (see "notorious","strangers on a train","psycho","the birds" "Marnie")What's lacking here is Clement's psychology:why does he do that?because he wants a son?because his solitude has become too unbearable?because,he's grown embittered ?because he's a frustrated gay?Except for his tastes for musicals,and his wife's death,we know absolutely nothing from Clement and it takes all Jean Rochefort's talent to make it credible.Guillaume Canet is very efficient too,and it was not an easy task to play opposite to such a veteran.

"Barracuda" is no masterpiece,but it's an interesting movie for suspense buffs ,and ,in spite of an unsatisfying ending, it'll give you a good share of scares.And if a new neighbor invites you in,think twice....

This is a film that begins so quietly one might be tempted to discard it. But, hang on for a few more minutes and you'll be rewarded by an intriguing and exciting story of a young man caught up in the fantasies of a psychopath, an elderly man who lives alone with a plastic replica of his deceased wife. It's a well-acted piece that holds you in its grip right to the end. It's almost a duologue with Luc (Gillaume Canet) and Clement (JEAN Rochefort) playing a series of "cat and mouse" scenes. All the other players have bit parts. Chained first to a bathroom washbasin and then to a steel post in his "own" room, Luc is at the mercy of fiendish Clement, a strange man with a troubled mind and one who likes to dance like Fred Astaire. Luc of course is constantly struggling to escape and he uses every ruse under the sun including a psychological approach. The director in quite a few scenes uses an interesting technique which is new to me. First we see the outcome of a situation played as Luc imagines it could be and then the script cuts to the real situation which is often frustrating and hopeless with no possible solution. Be warned some of the scenes are violent. The old man is pretty active with a fire extinguisher as a lethal weapon and equally at ease with a hyperdermic. Whether you believe the story or not, I can tell you it seems quite possible as one gets caught up in the action. If there's a message in the film, it's this: Never accept dinner appointments from strangers!

I advise to all the people who could see this film to do not miss it. The story gives a very good character for Jean Rochefort and the best that Guillaume Canet has ever had. I prefer to dont say anything about the story of the movie, the surprise will be greater !

This impressive debut feature from Philippe Haim is a stylish realisation of one of our worst nightmares, that of being trapped and at the mercy of a lunatic.

Just as Kathy Bates was inspired casting as Annie Wilkes in Rob Reiner's similarly themed 'Misery' so Haim has the great good fortune to have secured the services of veteran Jean Rochefort as Monsieur Clément. The character is a monster to be sure but as one would expect from this superlative artiste he has succeeded in arousing our sympathy. We do not know the source of his particular brand of insanity and are left to conjecture whether it be caused by protracted solitude, excessive loneliness or the desperate need for love. Some have detected a hint of homoeroticism but that of course is down to the individual viewer.

Guillaume Canet plays the hapless victim and one cannot fail to sympathise with the physical pain, mental torture and all-round debasement that he is obliged to endure.

The director's own score together with excellent art/production design, an all pervading sense of claustrophobia, touches of black humour and the dynamic between the two principles combine to make this piece eminently watchable.