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.

Rapt (2009)

This is like other European crime movies I've seen, very detailed and low key, and seemingly very realistic. This one is like the others in that it's sort of interesting all along but rarely compelling. There is, in a weird way, no drama, not in movie terms. The facts are dramatic--kidnapping, torturing the hostage, that kind of thing--but the movie plays it all out in a realistic way that emphasizes police procedure, gentle conversations with loved ones left behind, and lots of waiting with the hostage takers being meanies.

It's weird to belittle this movie because in a way it's really competent, even very good if this is what you want. Compared to American (Hollywood) kidnapping scenarios (that Mel Gibson movie comes to mind), this makes the Hollywood versions ridiculous. But at least the Hollywood intention to entertain, to create high drama, is fulfilled. Here, in "Rapt," we are not actually ever rapt (that is, suspended in some kind of riveted attention).

If you sort of know this isn't your kind of movie, I'd skip it. If you do like very realistic crime films that are made with great attention and lots of empty spaces (at least psychically), then you might well really like this. In the details, I found the conversations between the family and cops trying to rescue him really dull and not quite believable, and I found the scenes where the hostage takers were roughing up the hostage too prolonged and unnecessary. This alone dragged the whole experience down. For me.

It's worth noting that the movie scored many awards in France, and that the Rotten Tomatoes rating is really high for it. The IMDb rating seems more in line, to me, for now (about 6.7 at the time of this writing).

It actually seems to be a movie with something to say, & well done. But I found it so grim & sad, I had to stop watching.

OK, the rich CEO has mistresses. Not laudable, but not unusual for men in his position. Especially French, isn't it de riguer. He gambles a lot. Is indulgent, and his assets are less than expected. Also not usual. He loses reputation during the kidnapping. Look at Trump, dishonest, lies about anything. Cheats on pregnant wife, sexual pervert, steals from cancer kids, not the billionaire. He claims. More debt than assets, & he was President, still with huge support.

This is probably worth watching, I just could not. Too grim.

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?

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