Tudo por Ela

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.

The family man and school teacher Julien Auclert (Vincent Lindon) has his life turned upside down when his beloved wife Lisa (Diane Kruger) is arrested, accused for murdering her boss, and sent to the prison. Along three years, Julien raises their son Oscar (Lancelot Roch) alone and appeals to the court; however, the evidences against Lisa are solid – the motive, since she had and argument with her boss; her fingerprints in the murder weapon, a fire extinguisher; blood stain in her coat; and a witness that saw her leaving the parking lot - and her lawyer exhausts all the possible resources in justice. Julien believes in the innocence of his wife and interviews Henri Pasquet (Olivier Marchal), a former escapee from prison, to learn how to plan a prison break. Then he plots a scheme to release Lisaa and travel abroad with Oscar and her. However, he needs documents for the family; an escape plan; and lots of money. When Julien is informed that Lisa will be transferred to another prison within the next three days, he needs to raise a large amount and anticipate his strategy before the transference.

"Pour Elle" is another great French thriller, with an engaging and dramatic story. Vincent Lindon has an awesome performance in the role of a man that risks his stable life to rescue his wife, who was wrongly accused of murder, from prison.

A couple of days ago (02 April 2011), my wife and I saw the American popcorn movie "The Next Three Days" and in that occasion I wrote in IMDb "a good thriller that could have been excellent with minor modifications in the screenplay". I have glanced the review of another IMDb User informing that the American movie is a remake of "Pour Elle" and I have just watched it. It is amazing the lack of creation of this former successful American industry that insists in the remake of great films.

"Pour Elle" is realistic, without the exaggeration of "The Next Three Days" and for me better and better. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Tudo por Ela" ("Everything for Her")

Julien and Lisa are a happy loving couple living quiet, ordinary lives in their quiet, ordinary apartment with their baby son Oscar. Then one evening the doorbell rings, Julien opens the door and their lives are thrown into chaos. Police swarm into the apartment, pounce on Lisa and arrest her for the murder of her boss. Three years later Lisa has lost her last appeal against her 20 year jail term and is finally giving up hope – and giving up on life. She stops taking insulin trying to slowly commit suicide. Julien is a desperate man. He tracks down a notorious criminal who has written a best-selling book on his several successful escapes from prison. And so his plan begins. 'Anything For her' is a typical solid French thriller. There are no sudden twists or turns in a plot that relies on the natural tension of the situation to keep it going. The meticulous planning of the jail-break is compelling as you watch Julien turn his apartment into effectively an operations room. The walls are lined with maps and photographs, with graphs and plane schedules, and with heavily underlined questions such as "Escape Route?" He tells Lisa nothing about what he's doing and begs her to just hang on. He intends to sell her mother's house to raise the money they'll need to start a new life but then Lisa is told she is to be transferred to another prison and so Julien must speed up his plans and raise the money somewhere else. The tension and the pressure of it on Julien is almost unbearable and never lets up. The director is determined that there be no distraction from this, his main focus of the film and quickly shows, practically at the start, what actually happened to Lisa's boss so that that whole aspect of the story is quickly dismissed and forgotten about. It's not an all-out masterpiece by any means but it is a very entertaining, at times gripping film that does exactly what it says on the tin. Vincent Lindon is practically a veteran of these things and forces you to feel real empathy for Julien while Diane Kruger does well with what is really a much smaller part, fully conveying the nightmare of prison life and the physical decline it brings.

With his wife(17 years younger, hotter and less brooding) stuck in jail facing 20 years for a murder she clearly did not commit(and all the evidence against her is circumstantial... do French police suck this hard? In general, they are painted in a rather negative light in this, quite unnecessarily), Julien(the swimming teacher from Welcome) seeks to free her so that they can be reunited and spend the rest of their lives together, and with their son(who, other than badly needing to wear a cowbell, doesn't contribute much to this other than being "cute" and a single running theme overly easily solved... and it's not the only thing this sets up that doesn't lead to anything). High hopes aside, he's only a schoolteacher... could he really pull it off? The gradual pace leaves this feeling longer than the 96 minute running time, though it is quite tense and fairly gripping. You care about these people, and you definitely *feel* the impact of every blow dealt. The exciting third act has you so consistently on the edge of your seat, you're liable to fall off. Throughout, this is filmed and edited well. All of the performances are excellent... including the six-year-old(no, really). Part of the way, this is realistic, and it certainly does surprise you. The writing is mostly solid. There is a little brutal, bloody violence in this. I recommend it to fans of crime-thrillers. 7/10