Roman de Gare (2008)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:71
Fresh:62
Rotten:9
Average Rating:7.1/10
Consensus: Claude Lelouch has crafted an engaging thriller about murder and romance with plenty of stylistic panache.
Rated: R [See Full Rating] for brief language and sexual references
Runtime: 1 hr 43 mins
Genre: Foreign Films
Theatrical Release:Apr 25, 2008 Limited
Box Office: $1,735,301
Synopsis: True to its title, ROMAN DE GARE (CROSSED TRACKS) finds famed French director Claude Lelouch (UN HOMME ET UNE FEMME) jumping between time and loyalties in this suspenseful mystery about fate and... True to its title, ROMAN DE GARE (CROSSED TRACKS) finds famed French director Claude Lelouch (UN HOMME ET UNE FEMME) jumping between time and loyalties in this suspenseful mystery about fate and fatal secrets. As the film opens, popular crime novelist Judith Ralitzer (Fanny Ardant) finds herself at the receiving end of a police interrogation for two murders. We then learn about the escape of an actual serial killer known as "The Magician," who may already be lurking on the roads leading out of Paris. The road is where we find Huguette (Audrey Dana), a high-strung hairdresser who is soon abandoned by her enraged fiancé at a highway service station. Huguette is rescued by the unassuming Pierre (Dominique Pinon), who may or may not actually be the ghost writer responsible for Judith Ralitzer's success. Pierre pretends to be Huguette's fiancé so that her provincial parents and alienated daughter will think that Huguette has put her life in order. But even as Pierre wins the affection of Huguette and her family, his reliance on magic tricks may hint at a much darker secret. And when Pierre is reunited with the celebrity-absorbed Ralitzer, his intention to come out from her shadow and be his own author may force the star to construct a novel demise for her servant. Taking advantage of a superb cast and gorgeous French locations, Lelouch's veteran touch deftly manages ROMAN DE GARE's multiple layers of mystery and romance. The result is a pleasingly chic thriller grounded in a very human belief in the surprising possibilities that come from love. [More]
Starring: Dominique Pinon, Fanny Ardant, Audrey Dana, Zinedine Soualem
Starring: Dominique Pinon, Fanny Ardant, Audrey Dana, Zinedine Soualem, Michèle Bernier, Myriam Boyer, Boris Ventura Diaz, Marc Rioufol, Thomas Le Douarec
Director: Claude Lelouch
Director: Claude Lelouch
Screenwriter: Claude Lelouch, Pierre Uytterhoeven
Producer: Claude Lelouch
Composer: Gilbert Becaud, Alex Jaffray
Studio: Samuel Goldwyn Films
Reviews for Roman de Gare
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The air of Gallic nonchalance ensures you have a lot of fun watching Pinon and Ardant match wits. It's Dana, however, who anchors the story. Full Review |
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An engaging, enjoyable slice of suspense from the French. Full Review |
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Is it supposed to be funny, tragic or what? Even the characters don't seem too sure. Full Review |
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There's a lushness and emotional charge here that makes this very watchable. Don't expect poetry, though; it's more like a good crossword puzzle. Full Review |
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It's surprising, enthralling, intriguing, blackly droll, and a rattling good yarn. Full Review |
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Red herrings abound and audience frustration sets in. It's a pity because the film looks good and the Gilbert Becaud songs on the soundtrack are easy on the ear. Full Review |
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It’s filled with intriguing characters, it has a fascinating initial premise -- and then it runs off the rails. Full Review |
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The thriller elements that become the crucial threads in the third act are a bit clunky and the resolution is not convincing, either dramatically or romantically, but the film is nonetheless an entertaining journey Full Review |
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Lelouch surprises us at every turn and we never know where the story is going to take us. Full Review |
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Click to read the article Full Review |
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It’s too bad you can’t shove a new theatrical release into your beach bag, as if it were a well-worn paperback. Full Review |
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Lelouch is now 71 years old, and I bet he's never had as much fun with a film. Roman de Gare threads plots and characters and twists together like a demented weaver. Full Review |
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The ever-appealing Fanny Ardant and the enigmatic, pug-faced character actor Dominique Pinon have many subtle delights up their sleeves, and newcomer Audrey Dana is a revelation. Full Review |
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... about the creation of fiction, the way we spin lies together into a simulacrum of life - if there's any philosophical point of view beyond that it's that every narrative is necessarily an abridgment of truth. Full Review |
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What's especially clever about the plotting is that anything that proves to be merely a red herring is then incorporated into another storyline. Full Review |
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If this kind of storytelling is your cup of absinthe, Claude Lelouch makes it easy to sip appreciatively. Full Review |
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In many ways, Lelouch's film is -- in its somewhat old-fashioned way (which isn't a pejorative) -- the most bracing dose of cinema I've seen all year. Full Review |
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Provides one of the year's more memorable movie moments: a simple shot of a barn, overlaid with both the soothing crooning of a Gilbert Becaud pop song and the terrified squeals of a hog being slaughtered. Full Review |
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Even if the game isn't entirely successful, it's fun to play along. Full Review |
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It's intellectually cagey, potentially romantic, and, above all, an entertaining puzzle box of duplicitous people doing mysterious things, men and women. Full Review |
Latest News for Roman de Gare
February 17, 2008:
Trailer & Poster review ![]()
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