Switch (2011)

It's one of those films which leave you with a feeling of having just wasted your time for nothing, like a one night stand with a selfish lover. On paper the plot seems exciting, but it just doesn't make sense, nobody is as stupid as the main character. And the scene with the mother!? "There's a dangerous killer in that house, mum, could you go check it out?" - "sure, I'll just bring my weapon. Now I'll walk in and handle the killer my self, and then I can call the police afterwards" - "mum? Mum!? (Sounds of mum being killed) oh my God, what happens to my mum? Well, I'll just go for a cup of coffee now..." Not that it needed to be all realistic but this is to far out to be worth spending time on

Someone frames our poor little girl from Montreal, and pulls off a tremendous caper by getting her to 'switch' her PQ apartment for a trendy flat in Paris. Paris cops show up and detect a body. Problems begin, including identity theft (ramped up on the Richter scale).A thrill a moment, and excellent hand-held camera work (shot in 35 days by 2 guys with hand-helds, reportedly) during numerous chase scenes. Sadly, our innocent heroine commits several felonies while fleeing and trying to prove her innocence: if O.J. is in jail for life for storming a trophy convention, while armed, just to retrieve his own property, how much time would our PQ girl get if she had her 'on-the-run' misadventure in the good old USA?I mean - Harrison Ford escapes custody in the Fugitive, but he is careful to avoid committing other serious crimes while on the run (he even saves a couple of lives) right? Our heroine has to commit so many serious crimes to get through this thing, I was thinking she might have been better to confess to the murder she was framed for, stay in custody, and try contriving an appeal from behind bars!

Poor old Eric Cantona! Apparently lots of potential buyers have been put off this DVD because of the cover, but let me tell you this, Cantona actually puts in a nicely understated performance. He's not the problem in this film though. It's the utterly ludicrous script that spoils what could otherwise have been an excellent action thriller. On the plus points, the lead actress puts in a superb effort (although the film never explains why a struggling artist has the skills of a CIA agent), and most of the cast are good actors. There are also some very good action scenes, and a memorable foot chase through the suburbs of Paris.Apart from an excellent start, and an intriguing premise, the film quickly descends into a brainless chase movie, with some truly ridiculous scenes (the mother with the shotgun being one of the most stupid), and any number of coincidences unexplained. Worse than all that, though, is the motive of the killer, which is completely incredible. The ending will leave you scratching your head. I have no problem with the suspension of disbelief, but there has to be some credibility, otherwise you end up laughing, like I did. It's a real shame, because the film is well directed, there is an excellent cast, included the much maligned Cantona, and with a credible script and screenplay, it could have (and should have) been a rock solid thriller. It is simply too far fetched for my tastes.

Frederic Schoendoerffer is really a great director. One of the best in the french crime movie industry, I mean. This story is written by the famous best seller novelist Jean-Christophe Grangé - author of LES RIVIERES POURPRES and some other features. If you are already familiar with his books, you'll guess that this film gives us a serial killer scheme. Vicious, weird, disgusting, nasty, totally f...up with all the juicy details...But it is also a complex topic too hard to explain in details. I did not follow everything in this tale. Sorry. One sequence reminds us POINT BREAK, when Reeves pursuits Swayze through houses, streets and backyards...This topic is really in the line of the new fashion french thriller- inspired by the American one: POUR ELLE, A BOUT PORTANT, LA PROIE...where the lead is suspected to be a criminal and he has to prove his innocence. Nothing unusual. But it is a fast paced flick, well done, with of course a predictable ending.An ending very abrupt too.Eric Cantona, the famous former soccer player, gives here an astonishing performance. So does the lead actress.