Writer/director Mabrouk El Mechri goes 'meta' on Jean-Claude Van Damme (more like meta²) with sharp wit & a busy camera style following the aging ‘Muscles from Brussels’ action star as he visits the homeland for a fresh new start after a series of bruising personal experiences: custody battle for his kid; inadequate cash reserves for his attorney; even losing a film role to Steven Seagal. How much worse can it get? Turns out, plenty when he’s held hostage at a local Postal Bank only to be identified by the police as one of the robbers. Soon, the media shows up; his fans clog the streets; Mom & Dad plead with him to go straight; and JCVD winds up playing unlikely conduit between holstered & unholstered forces. Lots of fun untying narrative knots & layers of misunderstanding (farce rarely works this well on screen, the threat of violence a big help), the film reaching a blissful philosophical climax in a long soliloquy (Jean-Claude & camera rising into the stage rafters) as he contemplates his place in the scheme of things (flexibility turns out to be more than a physical attribute*) and tries to figure out a plan of action to clear up the mess. And if the tone starts to wobble once he’s winched back down to the set, El Mechri has built up enough goodwill to see us thru. The obvious ending, Van Damme’s big adventure becomes his next smash pic, presumably not clever enough for the filmmakers, but no deal-breaker.
ATTENTION MUST BE PAID: *Mental Flexibility more Mabrouk El Mechri’s thing with excellent use of shifts in time and POV giving us second looks at some of the big turning points. Nicely done.
DOUBLE-BILL: The opening shot, a long complicated one-take action sequence spoiled right at the end, inspired by WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT/’88?
No comments:
Post a Comment