None of this would work without Duris' simmering performance as Tom, a person who's struggling to find his true calling.
The Beat That My Heart Skipped (2005)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:88
Fresh:74
Rotten:14
Average Rating:7.2/10
Consensus: Stylish and visceral, this able remake is infused with realism, grit, and a taut performance by star Romain Duris.
Runtime: 1 hr 47 mins
Genre: Foreign Films
Theatrical Release:Jul 1, 2005 Limited
Box Office: $799,497
Synopsis: Director Jacques Audiard and screenwriter Tonino Benacquista, who shared a 2002 Cesar Award for Best Original Screenplay for READ MY LIPS, team up again in THE BEAT THAT MY HEART SKIPPED, a gritty... Director Jacques Audiard and screenwriter Tonino Benacquista, who shared a 2002 Cesar Award for Best Original Screenplay for READ MY LIPS, team up again in THE BEAT THAT MY HEART SKIPPED, a gritty psychological drama set in the dark, dank streets of Paris. The film is based on James Toback's cult favorite FINGERS, in which Harvey Keitel played a tortured soul trapped between his love of the piano and his involvement with the mob. In this remake, Romain Duris stars as Tom, a ne-'er-do-well who works with two scheming real estate men, Fabrice (Jonathan Zaccai) and Sami (Gilles Cohen), who have little or no morals. When Tom sees his mother's old agent, he decides to return to the piano, practicing Bach's Toccata in E Minor for an important audition that he envisions could be a life-changing event. He hires a Vietnamese woman, Miao-Lin (Linh-Dan Pham), as his teacher, even though they speak different languages. While struggling to regain his mastery of the piano -- which he gave up after his virtuoso mother's tragic death -- he is called upon by his partners to participate in shady deals and even help one of them cheat on his wife (Aure Atika). He also has a troublesome relationship with his father (Niels Arestrup), who asks Tom to collect money he is owed, putting him in dangerous situations. THE BEAT THAT MY HEART SKIPPED is an intelligent, involving film, told in long takes with a handheld camera to heighten the emotional impact of scene after scene. [More]
Starring: Romain Duris, Niels Arestrup, Linh Dan Pham, Aure Atika
Starring: Romain Duris, Niels Arestrup, Linh Dan Pham, Aure Atika, Emmanuelle Devos, Jonathan Zaccai, Gilles Cohen, Anton Yakovlev
Director: Jacques Audiard
Director: Jacques Audiard
Screenwriter: Tonino Benacquista
Producer: Pascal Caucheteux
Composer: Alexandre Desplat
Studio: Wellspring
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Reviews for The Beat That My Heart Skipped
It's a tense, jumpy, sometimes amusing work that posits the inherent duality of everything. And, most definitely, the intriguing duality of people.
Audiard’s film is undeniably infused with a greater sense of realism, yet this stark and elemental drama seems underserved by prosaic realism.
Whether the scenes add up to anything or not, however, Duris holds the screen like a natural.
The film confirms director Audiard as a master of visual mood, in this case one of barely expressed emotional panic.
Audiard's baffling underworld etude seems entirely played in a minor key.
Bolstered by superb supporting performances and composer Alexandre Desplat's elegant complement to Bach, Beat is a vibrant and exacting character study.
Delivers its tough narrative straight and swiftly, up to its surprising but satisfying ending.
The Beat That My Heart Skipped doesn't replace Fingers, but joins it as the portrait of a man reaching out desperately toward his dying ideals.
A French film that takes the hard-boiled poetics of American noir and squeezes them into an explosive, compacted knot of anguish and violence.
Sets a high mark for so complete a character study in a dynamic and original context. Duris owns the part.
A gorgeous tale...that allows Romain Duris to fully bloom as one of France's finer young actors.
The storytelling is elliptical; subplots that seem important simply vanish without resolution, as they do in life if not melodrama.
Romain Duris's stunning performance anchors a fascinating melodrama about real-estate sharks.
The movie is that rarity, a remake that uses its source material as a jumping-off point and ultimately cuts deeper and truer than the original.
Latest News for The Beat That My Heart Skipped
February 22, 2006:
BAFTA Winners Announced!
The British Academy of Film & Television Arts (BAFTA) held their annual awards presentation on February 21st, and they managed to dole out some love for an interesting... More...
December 16, 2005:
London Movie Critics Present Their '05 Nominations
Movie City News shares with us a press release from the London Film Critics Group in which their various nominations are announced. Keep in mind that the Brit crits use their... More...
October 05, 2005:
Summer Tomatometer Wrap-up #3: The Best of the Limited Releases
In the hot summer months, everyone's looking for a way to cool down. This summer, movie audiences decided one of the best places to beat the heat was in the barren,... More...
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