One Word Movie

The Beat That My Heart Skipped

It's a shame that a film this good should have such a dumb title, I mean, how are you going to recommend it to your friends? "Would you like to go and see that Heart my Skip Fucked?" I don't think so.

Apart from the mensa-examination name, I thought it was fantastic. It's like Mean Streets with piano playing in it. Romain Duris has a bit of a Liam Gallagher monobrow going on, but the young De Niro comparisons are also inevitable. The fat bloke who plays his dad is very good, too. It's not really a thriller, because there's too much human interest in it. It's more like an incredibly intense drama.

Aside from the terrific performances, I enjoyed this film because it doesn't lecture to the peanut gallery, and you can never be sure where it's going. Even when the froggy De Niro's heading off for his big audition, you don't know what's going to happen. In an American movie, you know that a Seemingly Insurmountable Obstacle would arise, and he would Manage to Overcome It at the Last Moment When it Seemed all Hope Was Gone. But that doesn't happen here, so the developments are genuinely interesting. I reckon this is the best movie that I've seen this year, apart from Sideways.

posted by Chairman Peyote @ 1:18 PM