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| Point Blank |
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| Thursday, 08 December 2011 13:26 | |||
 Point Blank is an energetic, kinetic film. The characters run and we run with them. While it gets a bit silly at times, we suspend our belief as a sacrifice to the pace and style of the film. DVD Review
Title: Point Blank
Director: Fred Cavaye
Cast: Gilles Lellouche, Roschdy Zem, Elena Anaya
Runtime: 84 minutes
  Reviewed by Rhys Dowbiggin
Communication is lost in translation. Language is a universal connector yet it divides us so very quickly. The attitude of "I don’t understand what you are saying so I choose not to associate with you." seems too prevalent in this world. It too often creates fissures amongst people, cultures, and countries. Yet language is not politics or religion. Language is not a tool of division, yet we let it. Film is language. It is an expression of people, culture, and countries. Understanding how certain people approach film lends us to understand them. Film can be a connector.
Point Blank is the rapid-fire story of ransom and intrigue. The film starts at a breakneck pace, a chase sequence involving a dangerous looking fellow being pursued by two dangerous looking fellows. The law of film says that when suspicious people chase each other, a conspiracy is at work. When the chasee is hit by a car and taken to the hospital, things get interesting. We then meet Samuel and his sexy, pregnant wife. They are an idealistic couple — young, happy, good-looking. When the aforementioned dangerous-looking guys try to whack the aforementioned car accident victim, Samuel steps in and saves the man’s life. His wife is captured and he is order to get the man out or his wife dies.
The film starts off solid. It creates instant intrigue by bursting into the chase sequence. We know very little but what we see, and what we see is suspicious. Samuel and his wife are characters we like and root for. When Samuel’s wife is kidnapped and he is attacked in brutal fashion, we realize this film is not kidding around — this is some serious stuff. Then things get interesting. The investigation regarding the man Samuel is ordered to extract involves a pair of competing crime squads. Oddly enough (in a very French kind of way), everyone is dressed impeccably — fitted leather jackets, nice jeans, and great hair. Okay, we’ll suspend reality for a moment to accept that CSI-ness of it all, the film started so well after all. Both squads thus begin hunting down Samuel as he aids the escapee. Naturally, Samuel is now in he line of fire. The cops think he is working with the guy and the guy, as they discover, is wanted for murder.
I won’t reveal how the story goes from there. It is fun to see how it unfolds, though heed this warning: it is not entirely without a few head-shaking moments. French filmmaking is a wonderful experience. The French have a certain knack for finding the pleasure in film, what makes us as viewers pay attention. They do it in a style that does not call attention to the budget of the film, but the quality of the filmmaking.
There is, however, a catch: the French are romantics. Their films are fantastical. If conspiracy is involved, the conspiracy has to be so amazing, so incredible, that it shakes us to our boots. Point Blank follows that trend. And yet Point Blank wants to be gritty. The violence is real. The characters do not follow typical "bad guy" clichés, but do, in fact, shoot others ruthlessly. After one particularly long chase, Samuel (like the superhero he is not) pukes from exhaustion. I can’t remember ever seeing that dose of realism in an action film. Yet this is where the film fails. It wants the best of both worlds. Point Blank is fantastical realism.
Director Fred Cavaye is not new to this territory. He wrote and directed Anything For Her, which was remade in America and called The Last Three Days. If you have seen The Last Three Days, this film will not surprise you. They share very similar traits: they both suspend belief (enough to the point of being silly) and move faster than a cheetah on Speed. Cavaye is a good filmmaker. He is adept with the camera and the story, if it is implausible.
Point Blank is an energetic, kinetic film. The characters run and we run with them. While it gets a bit silly at times, we suspend our belief as a sacrifice to the pace and style of the film. This is recommended if you believe film is an escape from reality; a medium meant to suspend your belief. If you want something that could, maybe, kind of, might happen but probably never will, Point Blank is for you.
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