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Friday, August 5, 2011

MOVIE REVIEW
Point Blank (À Bout Portant)

Catch Him If You Can, And Don't Dare Hurt That Baby



Gilles Lellouche as Pierret in Fred Cavayé's crime drama "Point Blank". 
Magnolia Pictures
  

by
Omar P.L. Moore/PopcornReel.com        Follow popcornreel on Twitter FOLLOW                                           
Fri
day, August 5, 2011

At the start we are body-slammed into the middle of "Point Blank", a lean, mean adrenaline-fueled crime thriller directed by Fred Cavayé.  Someone's chasing.  And someone's running.  Then we're walloped into another sequence.  In "Point Blank" everything gets abruptly and rudely interrupted by something else.  (Also known as "À Bout Portant", this French drama is making its way around the U.S. in select cities.)

Samuel Pierret (Gilles Lellouche) is a nurse, or, as he says, a nurse's aide.  His wife Nadia (Elena Anaya) is almost eight months pregnant.  A doctor tells Nadia to stay on her back for seven more weeks.  She doesn't want to.  Soon after Samuel saves the life of a fugitive named Sartet (Roschdy Zem).  For Samuel's efforts Nadia becomes a bargaining chip.  Samuel becomes an action man.  Partnerships form.  Unholy alliances and betrayals arise in the unlikeliest places.  The police have agendas that ensnare Samuel, whose only agenda is to protect his wife and their unborn child.

Propulsive, tense and comedic, "Point Blank" has a good deal of Hitchcock going for it.  Things may get preposterous, crazy and hard to believe but Mr. Cavayé's film never wavers from its blunt-force styling.  I loved almost every minute of this crime-thriller, with all its surprises, twists and turns.  Energetic, brutal and brisk, "Point Blank" never stops moving.  Its propulsive beat is infectious.  You can't help admiring the film's relentlessness and razor-edged tension.  "Point Blank" grabs you, holds onto you and shakes you up, and it's one heck of a riveting ride.  If you were a fan of Pierre Morel's "Taken", you will love this thriller, whose engine runs on a sharp script by Mr. Cavayé and Guillaume Lemans.

"Point Blank", as its title suggests, happens up close.  We don't breathe comfortably as we watch.  Tension percolates.  Suspense prolongs.  There's a thrill a minute.  Chases.  Crashes.  Corruption.  The film's actors neither romanticize their characters nor justify their motives.  The characters have the utmost conviction in purpose and action.  The world they inhabit is cynical, hellish and uncertain.  Trapped, they are forced to make efficient use of borrowed time, as does "Point Blank", which clocks in at 85 minutes.  Information is conveyed quickly and urgently, and "Point Blank" is pointed enough to zero in on the essentials like a laser.  The film is often as bloody as it is bold.

Navigating the sharp edges of Mr. Cavayé's film is the television news media and its shaping of crime.  The director shows the news media as a refutation of its reporting of crime though doesn't necessarily indict it.  In "Point Blank" however, the devil is always in the details.  The reveals are particularly clever, as is the screenplay.  This sleek, cold-hearted thriller has a strong sense of adventure and fearlessness making it fierce and unrelenting.  Its warmest bookend feels like cozy, soothing domesticity, and after the ringer we're put through it's gratifying, and welcomed.

With: Gérard Lanvin, Mirelle Perrier, Claire Perot, Pierre Benoist, Valérie Dashwood, Moussa Maaskri, Adel Bencherif, Virgile Bramly, Nicky Naude.

"Point Blank" (À Bout Portant) is rated R by the Motion Picture Association Of America for strong violence and some language.  In French language with English subtitles.  The film's running time is one hour and 25 minutes.

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