SYNOPSIS:
Tom is a pretty hard-boiled guy but also strangely considerate
as far as his father is concerned. Somehow he appears to have
arrived at a critical juncture in his life when a chance encounter
prompts him to take up the piano and become a concert pianist,
like his mother. He senses that this might be his final opportunity
to take back his life. His Piano teacher is a Chinese piano
virtuoso who has recently come to live in France. She doesn’t
speak a lick of French so music becomes the only language
they have in common. Before long, Jacques’s bid to be
a better person means that he begins to yearn for true love.
But, when he finally has the chance of winning his best friend’s
wife, his passion only succeeds in scaring her. And the, one
day, his dubious past comes to light ...
MOVIE
REVIEW
The
Beat That My Heart Skipped is a French remake of the 1973
Harvey Keitel vehicle Fingers. Unwieldy movie title aside
(take “that” out), this is a clever collaboration
between director Jacques Audiard and Tonino Benacquista after
the remarkable Read My Lips.
This movie
focuses squarely on the struggle faced by real estate roughneck
Thomas Seyr rediscovering his passion for the piano. While
Romain Duris put on a maverick display in portraying the tortured
protagonist Thomas Seyr, the acting is stellar all round.
Niels Arestrup showed why he is a seasoned veteran with some
convincing displays in limited film time and the fact that
we know actress Pham Linh Dan is speaking gibberish Vietnamese
did not detract from her sturdy portrayal of the Chinese pianist
coach Miao Lin.
Part of
the movie’s charm rests on a low-key stylishness with
a great wardrobe (I want those killer Chelsea boots) and some
intuitive camera work. Music plays an important role in demarcating
the struggles Thomas went through as well. All in all, co-writers
Audiard and Benacquista have successfully created a textured
character study that bears repeated viewing.
SPECIAL FEATURES :
No special features.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
A choice of Dolby Digital 2.0 or 5.1 coupled with flawless
visual transfer.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD
RATING :
Review
by Lim Mun Pong
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