Rapt

'RAPT' is a nasty and effective French thriller, although the nastiest moment comes early on and is subsequently not trumped. A rather unlikeable millionaire businessman is kidnapped; the film follows both his ordeal, and also the response of his family and associates. There are some thriller conventions here, particularly the slightly unbelievable professionalism of the kidnappers, but it's an effective movie nonetheless: tense and fast-moving, but also an interesting exploration of what might happen when someone loses all control of the narrative of their own life (and to wit, someone who has been used to doing exactly what he wants). I'm not sure there's any moral here, beyond the general unpleasantness of mankind (and more particularly, the rich), but the film not only entertains, but does so in an intelligent and provocative way.

The outline on the main page gives the guts of this story, apparently based upon a true-life event. Perhaps it was, but this story is as much a well-constructed thriller as it is a character study of various powerful people, particularly the victim of the kidnapping, Stan Graff (Yvan Attal) who is gradually revealed to be a thoroughly unpleasant business mogul, concerned only with his own self, his pleasures…and his dog.

In a quick series of opening vignettes, we see Stan at a hurried business lunch, thence to an apartment for a quick tryst with a woman (the clichéd lover every French male seems to have), then to a darkened room where he and others are playing poker, then to home to greet his wife and daughters, then to a solitary inner sanctum to be with his dog while he rests in solitary splendor.

The next morning, he is kidnapped, whisked away to a remote, rural location where he is held, blindfolded most of the time, and brutalized physically and mentally.

His wife, Francoise (Anne Consigny), at first is shown as a dutiful wife and mother; but, as the plot develops to reach the climax, she shows how little she truly cared about Stan's ordeal at the hands of kidnappers. Equally, Stan's daughters (played by Julie Kaye and Sarah Messens) show themselves to be more concerned with their mother or themselves.

Stan's business associates and so-called friends also bring similar attitudes to bear. When things get tough for them as they try to keep the company running, while Stan is held to ransom, the financial aspects of the company and its survival gradually predominate. Add to that mix are the revelations about Stan's infidelities and gambling debts that begin to surface in the press.

All in all, the film is therefore a study of what type of character lies beneath all the facades when emotions, needs and tensions run amok. Ironically, one of the most sympathetic characters is the kidnapper-in-charge – the only person who tries to make Stan's ordeal less terrifying that it could have been; although, it's terrifying enough for most viewers.

As expected, the production is classy, faultless, well-paced (although some will disagree), appropriately suspenseful and thoroughly entertaining. The scenes containing the police action, reaction, re-planning and shadowing of kidnappers attempting to pick up the ransom are riveting.

It's the ending, though, that will puzzle many, enrage others or, like myself, raise the possibility of an entirely different interpretation to the one that seems to be the case. Watching and listening carefully to what is done and said will reveal for you, I think, what truly happened. If you see the movie, you'll know what I mean.

Like Anthony Zimmer (2005), in which Yvan Attal also starred, Rapt is another excellent thriller with twists that match, and perhaps surpass the former. So, do yourself a favor and wrap your mind around Rapt. And let us all hope that neither Hollywood nor others try to produce another take.

Give this a nine for sure.

June 7, 2012

The players, the family, the business men, the politicians, the kidnappers, the police, the solicitor and of course, the victim. All with agendas, all seeking resolution and some seeking personal gain. Was the kidnapping the sole motivation? Was the avarice and greed of the business associates a prime motive? Were the family really the ideal family unit?

Ans, none of the questions were answered.

The wife's disdain for the apartment, the police motivation for showing it to her, all contribute to an ending that seeks more answers.

The collapse of the kidnapping, Stan's business position, the police case and the kidnappers' demands. If it was his own doing would the "calypso" note have appeared? For the French, the affairs of the heart are common place. the younger daughter's manner through out the episode. Did the family love the man or the riches and life style?

The complex but seemingly simple plot lines gave way to a multitude of questions and who would most benefit from the escapade?

Who was responsible?

Stanislas Graff (Yvan Attal) is a man of importance, he's a powerful industrialist who meets with world leaders. After breakfast with his wife Françoise (Anne Consigny) and teenaged daughters, Stan is kidnapped on his way to work in broad daylight, and his misfortune holds him, his family, and his business--"Rapt." Belgian writer/director Lucas Belvaux latest isn't the typical thriller one might expect. Stan may occupy and move in elevated social circles, but when he's snatched from his everyday life, those who interact with him every day find that they didn't really know him at all. Business and personal relationships shift and slide and when Stan finally comes home--a shell of his former self, the old adage about dog being man's best friend is proved once again. All these shifting loyalties are what make "Rapt" so compelling. After his high-profile kidnapping, the media uncovers his playboy lifestyle--and his wife, Françoise Graff is shown the apartment where he met his girls on the side. There's an acknowledgement that she knew something of this before, but being the wife of such a man, she couldn't bring herself to do anything about it, at least not while the money was still good, Something the film implies in one of its only attempts to understand the workings and motivations of its characters. Françoise discovers that the board of trusties would only provide the ransom money as a loan, and discovers her family is far less wealthy than she thought. The Graff girls Véronique (Sarah Messens) and Martine (Julie Kaye), are devastated to discover who their father really is, just as any common man, by watching the news reading the papers. The damage being done, besides a chopped-off finger--is to Stanislas's public and private image, which in turn begins to quietly dampen the family's eagerness to have him returned. Stan is eventually transferred to Le Marseillais (Gérard Meylan), who provides better living conditions, but nonetheless he is still a prisoner. Graff is reminded that he's no longer front page news--and after yet another money transfer is botched, he is told that he'll either be killed or freed. The kidnappers' ultimate decision is a whopper, but Stan has a series of shocks ahead. "Rapt" is a work of dexterous, subtle intelligence. Don't expect an action film and its psychological character portraits. It's a well-made thriller--with its leisurely pace and total lack of gratuitous sex and violence. It seems well-suited for those film-goers with a more modest sensibility who prefer refinement, as opposed to common American movie traits of speed and savagery. While it doesn't really say much about men such as Stanislas, what happens in its last reel suggests a realness to his unemotional side--unapologetic for his gambling and cheating despite any lessons the ordeal might have offered about the collateral damage inflicted upon those who are closest to him. There is a lack of a bond, or relationship with Stan, his family, and the audience. It's hard to feel sympathy for the protagonist. despite his situation, because he's not a likable person. What Stanislas's attitude seems to ultimately say is that he acted the way he did simply because his position in life allowed him to. His only regret is having been caught.

The movie is very slow moving and I wouldn't be surprised if quite a few people gave up on it, being bored and all. And if you expect a high adrenaline thriller, let me tell you: Look elsewhere. You won't find it here for sure.

What you will "find", is a movie that cares about characters and is very subtle. Maybe I'm reading things into it, but the sublime and underplayed changes that happened during the course of the movie are just incredible. There is not a big bang or something grandiose happening. It's in the details and the small things (acting and otherwise) that the story continues.

If you can bear with it and love it for it, you will be rewarded with a very human drama. A drama that might even stay with you, after you finished watching the movie.