O Interrogatório

Director Quentin Dupreux's "Keep An Eye Out" is familiar territory from his other films, so I understand. I've only seen two-"Rubber," which I hated, and "Wrong," which I liked, but it had its flaws. But I do see the resemblance, as they are all weird and unpredictable. Which is not necessarily a bad thing. In the case of this film, I loved it...but ironically it was the twist at the end which was, I suppose, meant to explain the craziness of what we'd just seen but ruined it for me overall.

It's really difficult to synopsize this thing, because it's just so nuts. But basically, a man walks outside his building to buy bug spray and finds a dead guy. He calls the police and a detective interrogates him late at night in the police station. The man explains his story, all the while going back and forth in time having conversations with people who aren't there or who are dead. The man is certain he's innocent of the crime but his scattered state of mind even makes him question himself.

The acting is very good and I laughed frequently at the absurdity of what was happening and enjoyed the creativity. At only 85 minutes, it clipped along at a brisk pace and I was never bored. But it almost feels as if they got to a point where they just didn't know how to tie the ends together and end it. To some it may be brilliant or clever, but to me it was a disappointing cop out. Perhaps if the scene had wrapped quickly, but it went on too long, way past where we've already said, "No way!"

But, up until the last few minutes, I really liked this film, so I give it a 7.

There are plenty of filmmakers who ply their trade in the weird and surreal, but nobody does it to quite the extent, with as much of a personal style, as Quentin Dupieux. No one else but his collaborators have the same sensibilities of wry, dry, somewhat dark, oddball humor. Even more to the point, I'm hard-pressed to name anyone else who likes to play so cheerfully with boundaries of "reality" within their features, discarding any specific notion of a concrete universe or setting and allowing lines to blur between far-flung perspectives just for the heck of it so they can all bleed together. At that, 'Keep an eye out' - or 'Au poste!' as the French title would have it - is relatively grounded and ordinary as far as Dupieux's oeuvre goes; it's only rather gradually that the wilder side of the storytelling creeps in, and this otherwise deigns to pretend it's a straightforward crime drama. But even at its most "ordinary" the movie is still joyfully offbeat as a common narrative scenario (police interrogating a suspect), and mundane nothings (the interviewee's described activities) are drawn out, focused upon, and woven together. Though it may not be as immediately and outwardly grabbing as some of his other works, make no mistake that when all is said and done there's no questioning that this is kith and kin with all that the man does, and I could scarcely be more delighted.

As Dupieux again assumes control over most aspects of the production - writer, director, photographer, and editor - he can shape the resulting film to his will and vision; maybe this helps to explain why everything in his body of work has such a unified feel about it. Here the method is comparatively restrained as we're chiefly greeted with a visual presentation that is gleaned directly from earnest fare of the 70s: hair, makeup, costume design, sets, music, and not least the warm hues of the image and the softness of the cinematography. Only very smoothly and casually are the idiosyncratic tendencies we know and love teased out in the storytelling, while the cast plays it straight all the while, and as they are one can't help but be enchanted. It's not that 'Keep an eye out' is as dazzlingly creative or captures the imagination as completely as, say, 'Rubber,' 'Deerskin,' 'Smoking causes coughing,' or 'Réalité,' but in its more gently underhanded tack this title nevertheless revels just as much in the same frivolities and frivolousness. One might reasonably argue that since this is less plainly peculiar, it could even be a fair point of entry to Dupieux for those who don't want to dive headfirst into his twisted mind. No matter how you slice it, however, this remains another superb, highly entertaining step in the filmmaker's cinematic journey.

Everything looks and sounds terrific here, and as among the stars Benoît Poelvoorde and Grégoire Ludig do most of the heavy-lifting, they especially are to be commended for so heartily embracing the spirit of the piece. It remains true, though, that Dupieux's keen wit and inventive ideas of storytelling are the primary draw for all his flicks, and this is no different. His tremendously fun screenplay lays out the path; his guidance as director ensures that no foot strays from that path of cheerfully, nonchalantly, but definitively defying norms and boundaries of fiction. When all is said and done the movie is simply a blast - we should expect no less - and anyone who at all appreciates what Dupieux does will enjoy themselves just as much in these 73 minutes. What he does won't appeal to all comers, but if you're open to all the wide, wacky possibilities that the medium has to offer, 'Keep an eye out' is low-key brilliant and a gem that's not to be missed!

When I see Benoit Poelvoorde's name on a movie, I always watch. He's become the new Pierre Richard, if you remember The Blond Man With a Brown Shoe from the 70's. Only thing, Poelvoorde is much tougher than the benign Richard. Watching him can be a little exhausting.

Whatever, here we have a surrealist caper masquerading as a police procedural. I think Dupieux must have been influenced by Bunuel and by Argento, for the surreal aspects and the violence. What happens to Philippe in the office has to be seen to be believed (it involves a protractor). The acting is first rate, from Poelvoorde as the bullying detective and Gregoire Ludig as the harried suspect. There's a wonderful turn by Anais Demoustier as Philippe's girlfriend, constantly saying 'actually' to everyone's exasperation. I'll be looking out for more of Dupieux's work.

If you are aware of the body of work the director has created, you probably don't need to read what I or others have to say. If you are not sure check the biography/filmography of the director. Anything familiar there? This right here may feel familiar but also almost feels "normal", especially considering this has a story that is quite coherent.

I say quite, because there are still a lot of things that are "weird" to put it mildly. You can't even begin to guess all the twists and turns, because we get treated with something unexpected from time to time. I personally love to be challenged like that. You have to know if that is your thing or not. If not, then I'd obviously advice you not to watch this. It would be a waste of time for you and a bad review for the movie obviously.

Completely enjoyable bizarre and surreal dry humor. If you've never seen a Quentin Dupieux movie, I think this is a great starting point. Not too weird, not too meta. I personally was first introduced to him by the film "Rubber" which I loved the idea of even though everyone I met seemed to despise it. I have since seen "Wrong", "Wrong Cops" and "Reality", all of which I greatly enjoyed.

The fact that I liked those films is integral to this review. I am a fan of his work, and I loved this one. The reviews you read will vary from first timers to people who already didn't care for the style, and so you must see where you fit.

On surface this is somewhat of a dry humored murder mystery, with a touch of surreal, but the actors in the characters are so engaging that it really doesn't matter what they're talking about. For much of the movie they're talking about things that don't matter, practically nonsense, but it's enjoyable as a whole.