L'homme qui voulait vivre sa vie

The Big Picture (2010)

Terrific vibes here, and a euphoric basic idea of a man getting out of a troubled situation and going for broke, for happiness. Literally, and spiritually.

First there is the set-up: a happy, charming, positive Paul Exben (played by the cheerful French actor Romain Duris). He's got an unhappy, negative wife and a kid who loves him and an infant who doesn't know what he wants (except to cry a lot). He's a photographer in the new manner, using high tech computers and high end printers. He loves being who he is, and is very successful financially.

But the wife is bitter and unyielding. Things are going to go wrong and they do. Exactly how (involving another photographer, a man who is very old school with a darkroom and enlarger) is partly what the movie is about, and the surprise is one of its peaks. Then the movie takes some amazing turns.

I say amazing but really there is a lot of incredulity built in. Would Paul Exben really go so far? Wasn't there a simpler solution (many of them)? If the end goal really was to "start over" in a manner of speaking, wouldn't there be ways of doing that and not sabotaging everything else? Maybe not, but then we should have been set up better for all the implications.

The movie's original title is "L'homme Qui Voulait Vivre Sa Vie," or "The Man Who Wanted to Live His Life." That's sooooo much better and more compelling. And that's what the movie is about. But the English title reminds us that photography, and this photographer, are central to it all, and I'm a photographer. I've been that old school type (by necessity) for decades and still have an enlarger (and a university darkroom) at my fingertips. But I have also moved almost completely into new school photography with inkjet printing and such.

I have to say, this movie made me want to get back in the darkroom. Not that there are scenes that romanticize that. More that there are lots of flaws and mistakes in pointing out the differences. Our man Exben ends up ditching his fancy Canon gear and getting an old Nikon film camera and a couple of lenses. Then he starts to print, rediscovering his roots. And then on his darkroom wall are some color prints--absolutely impossible with some trays as shown. And pretty much not possible period these days. Yet his new direction in color is what takes his career new places. I found the photography stuff annoying and enchanting, both. If you're not into the field, you'll probably just like the enchantment part. Never mind the far too easy gallery luck near the end.

But the movie is about what the French title suggests--and here it falters, too. Is this a man who is really living his life? In some obvious ways yes. But the existential drama could have (and should have?) taken this far deeper. By the final scenes where our man is photographing a horrifying event from a distance (and then sells some illogically close-up photos of the event to a publisher) we get a sense that he is truly dedicated. But also a bit lost. An opportunist. A man who accepts being trapped by circumstance.

In a way, this is a movie waiting to be remade. It wouldn't take much to make it a classic look at the human condition, with some attractive hooks along the way. What we have isn't so bad, but it offers more than it delivers.

I saw this film at the 2010 edition of the Toronto International Film Festival, and it was a pleasant surprise.

Great performances, tightly directed, and a very compelling storyline, in addition to a being beautifully shot and using some great Magnum Photos in the film as part of the main character's unexpected shift into a new world and a new life.

Based on the American writer Douglas Kennedy's acclaimed book of the same name, but changed to a Euro setting, director Eric Lartigau easily shows how European filmmakers can take the themes of murder, obsession and identity to new artistic heights, while also giving us one of the best thrillers of 2010. It's a thriller as cinematic art as only the Europeans can do.

The film might not have gotten as much attention as other films at TIFF 2010, but it definitely should. I truly hope it gets a wider release here in Canada and elsewhere.

Seek it out. Decidedly worthwhile.

If you are a fan of the book there are obviously a great deal of glaring differences, but this film does not disappoint if you can give it a chance. Obviously it is a European tale and the countries and languages are completely different to the original film. It is also a different story in terms of the characters. This is a film about a man who has recoiled from the life he wanted, but who is then forced into free fall. His skills learned through his unwanted life see him through, and he finds himself a new purpose and a new role in the world. I won't say any more than that as I see no point in spoiling a film by writing a newspaper-style plot summary. The ending is what many people don't like, but this is not a film of the book, it is a film inspired by the book. Let it be what it is.

I really have to write a review about this great French thriller. Firstly, although not a French Language expert, the original title which means roughly - THE MAN WHO WANTED TO CHANGE HIS LIFE - is much more appropriate than THE BIG PICTURE. Although the circumstances that lead the main character to change his life for something that he should have done years ago were quite shocking, it resonated with me and I am sure so many others. How many of us have not pursued what we were really good at and traded ourselves in to the banal life of the office, security of the pension and benefits etc. etc. The list goes on. If you can watch this film twice then do as you will appreciate it even more. The acting is very good. The ending may confuse some and I have not ticked the spoiler box so will not give anything away. After leaving the auditorium you will piece it together though. Overall an excellent film. The main actor was great in Heartbreaker and the same here with THE BIG PICTURE.

Eric Lartigau's film, 'The Big Picture', begins as a thriller, but ends more as an existential meditation on life (the literal translation of its French title, 'The Man Who Wanted to Live his Life', is much more apt than its dull replacement). A man ends up living, first in the shoes of another man, and ultimately as an anonymous nobody: he initial decision to give up his identity is a choice, albeit in straightened circumstances, but its consequences have to be experienced to be understood. The initial portion of the film has the feel of a thriller and does not seem especially well-acted; the latter half is more interesting, but overall, an abbreviated feel permeates the movie. Whereas Antonioni's 'The Passenger', which I also saw recently and which follows a similar course, is all about mood (only hinting at plot), here the balance is different, and the more interesting, introspective aspects are occasionally rushed. There's a lot of interest here, and some ambition on the part of the director; but some of its ideas could, I think, have been allowed a bit more space to breathe.