This film is an inventive and exciting thriller, which is solid and well made. The plot is about how wrong things can go when lies and ambitions coincide, and the price one must pay is very high. Here are no big effects, but rather a well-constructed story, which both frightens and fascinates. It is credible and the protagonist is both nasty and a person we get sympathy for. The film manages to show us booth sides of the main characters struggles to be somebody important. It also has several surprising elements, and a rich cast of characters. The lead role is a person we may also know a bit about. We want success, but not at any price. Where do we draw the line? Our man is willing to go very far, at horrible consequences. I will not reveal any of the content here, but would like to get that film has a surprise ending. A final I think works very well, and that also makes this film stand out from many others in its genre. There is some Hitchcock throughout the film, and it is of course intended as a compliment. It will certainly be an American version .... but this is good enough anyway.
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dakjets14 January 2017
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khan_rado11 November 2015The French know how to make films and this is a perfect example of it. A well-thought and well-made suspense thriller in the style of Hitchcock "Un homme ideal" is certainly a wonderful example of this genre. The film goes by just the right pace and never in a moment leaves the viewer distracted or bored.
Pierre Niney gives a deeply emotional performance, constantly changing his emotions from desperation to satisfaction, anger and fear to represent a character that is very diverse in the pursuit of his big dream - become an author at all costs. There is almost natural chemistry between him and the main actress (Ana Girardot)which gives a bit of extra realism that deepens the mood of the film.
The sets are very well-chosen creating a contrast with the main character's emotions - the dark and cold city landscape when he was excited about his work and wanted to succeed but couldn't and the sunny and warm seaside when he took his success for granted and his world started to fall apart.
A good and exciting thriller with solid performances and many unexpected turns. -
** Mild Plot Spoiler warning** Mathieu wants to be a writer but his work gets binned by the publishers he sends it to. He works as a removals man and longs to be taken seriously for his 'art'. Then chance plays a hand and as he is clearing out an apartment of a deceased war veteran he happens on a manuscript written by the dead man of his war time adventures fighting in Algeria.
Mathieu decides to write it up and take it as his own. The book is dynamite and his World changes for ever and for the better. However, the chance that his little ruse may be rumbled is an ever present risk and then fate comes calling a second time.
Mathieu is played by the very Gallic Pierre Niney ('Yves St. Laurent') and he gives a physically demanding performance and makes it all look believable. He is comfortably supported by a super cast that includes the wonderful Ana Girardot ('Next time I'll aim for the heart'). The film is very stylistic too with great cinematography and just the right level of tension to keep you hanging on for more. It is one of those where you don't notice the time passing and that is high praise for any film. In French and around 100 minutes long this is for lovers of thrillers, French cinema or just a ruddy good story. -
searchanddestroy-123 March 2015A true terrific surprise, this homage to Alfred Hitchcock and Patricia Highsmith. All long this movie, I thought of Mr Riplet - PLEIN SOLEIL. The cruel destiny of a petty uninspired novelist, who suddenly discover an old forgotten manuscript written by a dead man and decides to appropriate it to himself. We watch here the rise to fame and celebrity for the forgerer, and that's when it becomes very taut, thrilling, with terrific performances from the outstanding characters. Our lead will have to desperately fight against all odds to make it. Pierre Niney is a promising actor. I am sure he'll have a great career, that's the worst I wish him. Watch out for Marc Barbé's performance, as the stinking blackmailer; a character that suits him like a glove.
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This is a movie that will bring back to your mind the most popular novels by Patricia Highsmith, both in terms of plot and characterization. The hero is a young aspiring writer who stumbles upon a forsaken manuscript by a deceased author that he steals in order to make his dream come true. After the commercial and critical success of his first book, the protagonist Mathieu Vasseur, feels brave enough to approach the young upper-class literature professor, Alice, and they soon become a happy couple. When Mathieu moves into Alice's house, where she lives along with her parents, he will have to face major challenges as he realizes that there is also someone else who knows the truth about his scam and he blackmails him for vast amounts of money.
Mathieu is the typical anti-hero, reminiscent to characters such as Tom Ripley, immoral, unprincipled, and ready to remove permanently any potential threats to his new posh lifestyle. The plot moves forward in a brisk pace and the suspense that permeates the movie as a whole keeps the viewer glued to his seat. "Un Homme Ideal" is a movie really similar, as far as the story is concerned, to an American production, titled ''The Words" (2012) starring Bradley Cooper and Dennis Quaid. If you choose to give it a chance, it is sure that you won't regret it. -
This film was quite enjoyable and very thrilling, but I'm somewhat disappointed by its unfulfilled potential.
Let's just say that the acting, directing, visuals, sound, everything was perfect, not standing ovation material (I don't believe people give standing ovations for editing or sound), but it was transparent. I saw the story and I was completely immersed. I did not notice any of the ingredients but that's the point, to get you in the story. Film is not a competition between visual artists, editors, cinematographers in seeing who can stand out. It's a team effort and in this case, it works very well.
I have a tiny issue to nitpick with the editing - the passage of time is not shown. We don't know how much time has passed between events. Sometimes it's months, sometimes it's years. We have to wait for someone to say "It's been 3 years now" but that's not a great way of telling the story. "Show not tell" is the oft-repeated rule and as tiring as it is to hear and read, it needs to be repeated. There are many ways to show the passing of time. Montages, time-lapses, season changes, changes in hair or appearance. The flaw is that they showed Mathieu ask Alice on a date and then he meets her parents in their home. One would think that it's a few months into the relationship (meeting the parents for the first time) but it is later revealed that it is 3 years later. If the confusion of time were part of the story, that would be good, but it isn't.
That tiny flaw is not something I would deduce points for, however.
My real disappointment is that the start of this film, the plagiarist's road to fame was 10/10 and I wanted more. If it had continued down that road, I would put this film as one of my top 20 of all time. However, sadly, the film went another direction and made it a story of blackmail, extortion and a murder investigation.
We already have tons of films about blackmail and extortion. People have a tape, a USB key, a photo, a witness, and someone has to find a way to buy silence and bury the truth. There are so many films about this topic. So many films about someone burying a body, faking a disappearance, worrying about the body resurfacing, day-dreaming and hallucinating of blood, seeing cops everywhere.
I enjoyed the first part of the film so much, the hopeful artist, the plagiarist, his meteoric rise, the creating a persona from interviews and quotes. I wanted that to continue. I wanted him to double down on that, to go the route of Catch Me If You Can. He plagiarized his first novel with zero money, now he should be able to do it again and again, using his wealth to dig for the next novel, to scour writers workshops for ideas, to travel the world in search of another unpublished gem to steal.
I wanted to see a film where a plagiarist realizes that a career of plagiarism is a full-time job. He has to keep publishing to keep up his lifestyle or people would call him a one-hit wonder. Instead, we have a film about a rich person trying to bury a secret. What the secret was (affair, real name, identity, criminal record) is irrelevant in this film.
He is just a rich person struggling with debts, a secret, extortion and all he wants is to keep living in luxury.
An enjoyable film nonetheless, even though I wished for more originality. -
gridoon202412 October 2016The French are the masters of the sophisticated, character-driven psychological thriller, and "Un Homme Idéal" is further proof. The writing-directing team of Yann Gozlan and Guillaume Lemans (I will be looking for more films from these two) make every situation build inescapably from the previous one (everything that can go wrong, does go wrong), use the beautiful Cote D'Azur locations organically, and handle the suspense well, in the Hitchcockian manner. Although the film is set in a slightly "heightened" reality, which is one of the pleasures of the genre after all, it rarely hits a false note. An exemplary thriller. *** out of 4.
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sonybacker-2149330 June 2022If you like suspense genre, watch this movie. Beginning was a bit slow to start but after little moment it went to be on the edge of your seat movie. Hitchcock would be proud.
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ddony-0862228 March 2024As a spectator who is not particularly adept at the new French cinematic genre, I was pleasantly surprised by the film "Un Homme Ideal". Well anchored in the French style, the film begins slowly, but its rise in emotional intensity is remarkable. The plot is captivating, reminiscent of the subtle suspense of David Koepp's "Secret Window" with Johnny Depp. Pierre Niney delivers a remarkable performance, managing to transcend and express every emotional nuance of his character. The pace of the film is impeccable, every moment is thrilling. However, the main flaw lies in the development of the secondary characters. Although important to the plot, they sometimes seem to be there simply to fill an acting quota, without contributing much on an emotional level. The character of Thibault Vinçon (Stan) could have been better exploited, unlike that of Marc Barbé (Vincent) who benefited from more in-depth treatment. What stands out above all is that the film is not limited to a simple confrontation between a victim (you will understand the meaning of the quotation marks) and his blackmailer, but explores the twists and turns of the conscience of a man trapped in his desire for recognition. It is possible that the lack of development of the secondary characters was intentional, in order to highlight the brilliant acting of Pierre Niney. Ultimately, "An Ideal Man" is a captivating thriller that deserves to be seen for its palpable tension and remarkable acting performances.
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How far does one go to succeed? This is the question the movie 'Un homme idéal' deals with. In it, Pierre Niney plays the unsuccessful author Mathieu, to whom chance gives the diary of a dead man, which he unceremoniously transforms into his own novel and thus has the much-awaited mega-success. A small step with a big impact. Because at some point the world of literature expects a follow-up work and even worse, someone contacts Mathieu who has known the real author. Finally Mathieu is involved in a spiral of violence and lies, which gets its own momentum and can no longer be stopped ... Director Yann Gozlan presents a story in a stringent rhythm that Alfred Hitchcock probably would have loved. Like the master of suspense, Gozlan tumbles down the save world of his protagonist within a short moment and let him fight to survive. And just like Hitchcock, Gozlan manages that we feel sympathy for Mathieu, no matter how drastic the actions are he takes to uphold the dizziness. And with that, the director avoids giving a moral judgment on Mathieu, he leaves that to the viewer. 'Un homme idéal' is brilliantly staged with the camera, fluidly narrated, without fast cuts, logically constructed, in beautiful colors and in the present time a recovery for the eye. The story is without any length and gives a constant tension. After 104 minutes you wonder how fast the time has passed. The film is focused on its leading actor, this leaves the supporting players a little pale in their character, but that is criticism at the highest level. And that in the end one or two little things of the logic ago might be reconsidered, finally doesn't matter at all. The moral of the movie, without giving away too much, is the fact, that whoever climbs high can still fall a lot deeper. The end of the movie is suprising, harrowing and deeply touching. The film has consistently excellent actors, most notably the new French superstar Pierre Niney, here in Germany best known from Francois Ozon's 'Frantz' (in the UK probably with 'Yves Saint Laurent'). Pierre Niney comes from the theater (La Comédie Francaise) and can rightly be described as the greatest talent since Patrick Dewaere. So far, he has delivered outstanding performance in all of his films. At the moment he has huge success in France with a biopic about the french writer Romain Gary. Unfortunately, this film (La promesse de l 'aube) as well as 'Un homme idéal' has not yet found a German distributer and one wonders how it can be that every stupid crap is thrown on the market and successful films like 'Un homme idéal' (about 700.000 admissions in France) and 'La promesse de l'aube' (after 3 weeks already 750.000 admissions) can not find a german distributor !!! Who would not like to relinquish instead one of these unbearable real-life comic book films from the States ????
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nickgreek16 December 2023This is a great film,I didn't expect it but it's awesome .
The plot ,the actors,the senario , the direction are all great ... don't miss it .... Spoiler alert !,At first, it predisposes you to see a simple social project, but its plot changes into a suspenseful thriller. In the meantime, the author is very insightful!!! While in all of the films I am thinking about the proper solution in order to escape the deadlock, and the protagonist doesn't think about it, now the opposite has happened: he found the solution on how to deal with the situation without even I thinking about it!. Impressive!! -
Set in the art, and to be accurate literature, world, we first follow a failed writer that happened to lay hands on a masterpiece. Jumping at the chance, he managed to make his life a perfect dream. There the movie really begins, with the pressure of a second book when he has been labelled a genius. Soon joined by pressures from his agent, bank, love rival and finally blackmail. How will he resist all this? What is he ready to do or to give up?
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mariani-8409729 December 2023This is a very good movie , well written , plausible and with very good acting especially from two protagonists namely the main character and his girl friend who is litterally astounding in a subtle and difficult role yet she manages perfectly.. kudos to the screen writer too and the score holds the film creating a hang cliff situation all along , no twists , it's well delivered and enjoyable all the way , it's a genre of course , à proper thriller and really worth the watch.. I saw it in French so can't judge the English version of course ...maybe in a light negative note I would say that some elements seem déjà vu but this should not stop you from watching ...