With A Friend Like Harry
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Movie Reviews of With A Friend Like Harry
Movie Review: Friendship, Obsession, Murder: A First-Rate Movie
Summary: 5 Stars
This French film starts with a car ride. Michel (Laurent Lucas) and his wife and three young daughters are driving from Paris to a rundown country cottage they bought and hope to fix up over time. It's hot, the three little girls are fussing and crying and kicking the backs of the seats. Michel is trying to stay calm. His wife is upset as she tries to settle the girls.
The movie ends with another car ride. Michel is driving the family back to Paris. He looks with great love at his wife as she dozes next to him. He looks back at his children with tenderness and contentment as they lie next to each other sound asleep. He looks at the manuscript of a long story he has written.
In between shouldn't happen to anyone.
At a rest stop on the family's drive to the cottage, Michel encounters by chance Harry, (Sergi Lopez) a man who went to school with him, a man he can't remember but Harry remembers him. When Michel was in school he wrote stories, and Harry remembers every word. Harry stands a little too close, shakes hands a little too long, is a little too pleasant. He's traveling with his girlfriend, Plum, but somehow manages to be invited to the cottage for drinks. Michel, when Harry asks, says he works as a teacher in Paris. What does Harry do? He used to live off his father, he says, but "then my father died and now I manage his money."
Harry believes that every problem needs a solution. When Michel's old car breaks down, Harry buys him a new 4x4, far out of proportion as a gift from a friend. Michel and his wife protest, but Harry says "Why complicate life? I wanted to give you a present." Harry wants Michel to be happy and to write, and he wants Michel's friendship. And problems need solutions. Michel's parents at times make Michel unhappy. After they die in a car accident, Michel's brother finds one of Michel's old stories and makes fun of it. Later Harry explains that Michel's brother won't be returning to the cottage, that he decided to hitchhike back to the city where he lives.
Harry decides that his girlfriend, Plum, is a problem for his relationship with Michel that needs a solution. And then Harry decides that Michel's wife and small children are a problem.
This is a first-rate movie, part thriller, partly a study in murderous obsession. Laurent Lucas does a fine job as Michel. Michel is an honest guy who loves his family, who gave up trying to write, who is frazzled, who is just a little weak. He can't deal firmly with his parents, he tends to let his wife discipline their kids when they act up, and he finds it difficult to just say No to Harry as Harry gradually works his way into Michel's life. Lucas is a good looking actor but he's not pretty. He's believable as the character. Sergi Lopez as Harry brings a great deal of calm, unsettling friendliness to his role. When he stops smiling, you know the character is going to do something unpleasant. Lopez played Sneaky in Dirty Pretty Things.
I recommend this movie. The DVD picture is excellent.
Movie Review: Unique Talent Restored Through Psychopath...
Summary: 5 Stars
Every human being has a unique talent, but the question is whether the person recognizes the talent and cultivates it. Throughout life people are faced with a decision that will influence their life and this decision could have devastating affects on the growth of unique talent. Sometimes the person might only need a little help to get started, but in extreme occasions the person might need drastic changes in order to nurture their exceptional skill. With a Friend Like Harry pinpoints this notion in an eerie suspenseful drama where an unfamiliar person has established that the talent exists within the person and strangers decide to make sure that the skill is refined.
Michael (Laurent Lucas) is a school teacher and family man with three daughters, a car with too many miles, a summerhouse that is in dire need of restoration and an income too small to afford a change of life style. The situation is increasingly stressful for Michael who wants to deal with all of his hassles by himself. The stress in Michael's life also leads to strain between him and his wife, Claire (Mathilde Seigner). On a trip to the summerhouse when the children are crying and complaining about the heat in the car, they stop for refreshments. When Michael visits the pit stop's bathroom he bumps into a man who appears have been in the same school as him in his adolescence. This man is Henry.
One of the first things Henry asks Michael is whether he is still writing as he remembers his writing from high school. Michael, who barely has time for himself, has not written since high school. Later the audience witnesses Henry in a bizarre scene where he recites a long poem, which Michael wrote in high school. Henry, who defines himself as a problem solver, as he has unlimited amounts of time since he has a small fortune which he inherited from his father, wants to help Michael to get back to writing at any costs.
Dominik Moll directs a well-written script into a first-rate psychological thriller where the help goes too far as it proves to be lethal to anyone who stands in the way of Harry and his mission. The cast also provides an excellent performance as the characters feel genuine, to which the audience can relate. Last, but not least, the mise-en-scene is brilliant as it elevates the impression that each scene has on the audience. For example, Michael's parental intrusion into his life is brilliantly depicted through the pink bathroom that they have provided for their son and his family.
Movie Review: The trouble with Harry.......
Summary: 5 Stars
A deeply unsettling movie that left me reeling after watching it. Who says a scary movie needs a bucket of blood and a plateful of gore? In the tradition of Hitchcock whose idea of shocking somebody is through his mind, this movie pays homage to the great director with the greatest flattery: imitation.Even the plotline is somewhat a reminiscince of "Strangers on a train," a chance encounter between Michel, the protagonist of the movie, and Harry, a long forgotten schoolmate, leads to deaths around Michel. The "criss-cross" theme of Hitchcock's classic is well preserved and I won't go into details to avoid spoiling the movie for you. The well-timed orchestral music could also easily lead to mistaking this for a Hitchcock's film.
I can imagine any director getting over-excited about a psychological thriller like this. "Let's thrown in a few clues here to explain the motivation," I can hear a less seasoned director say. However, Dominik Moll did a fantastic job keeping the film consistent and simple (plot-wise). The acting is also impeccable; well deservedly, Sergi Lopez was awarded a Cesar (French equivalent to the Oscar) for his role as Harry. One complaint is that the film seems to try too hard to keep the tone low-key. It results in an ending that is rather weak (execution, not plot-wise).
Like Hitchcock, Moll is not interested in laying out a map to a killer's mind. He would rather bother you with the unexplained, after all it is more fun that way. From watching 'Psycho' we would never know why Norman Bates becomes what he becomes, yet he is probably one of the most talked about movie characters in history. Similarly, part of the suspense here is to figure out what makes Harry ticks and why. If you like your movies clear and transparent, chances are, you are going to hate this movie.
Movie Review: You Must See This Movie
Summary: 5 Stars
Dominik Moll's taut, sardonic thriller begins quite simply.In the men's room of a gas filling station, Michael (Laurent Lucas) finds himself reacquainted with Harry (Sergi Lopez), a high school chum he hasn't seen in years.
They chat. They talk about the good old days.
Eventually, Harry ends up at Michael's country house.
Big mistake.
What follows is a slick, intense study of the male psyche filled with murderous impulses, hints of homosexualty, psychotic obsessions, stalking, bloodshed, nudity, razor-sharp dialogue and a surprise ending guaranteed to knock your socks off.
And all because Harry decides the time has come to free Michael from domestic shackles which include a nagging wife, two screaming kids, a deceitful brother and two meddlesome parents.
On the big screen, "With a Friend Like Harry" sizzled. On DVD, the result is the same. The only difference: You can hit the reply button every now and then, particularly when you think "Wait a minute! Did what just happen really happen?"
Movie Review: A modern thriller
Summary: 5 Stars
Serious viewers will instantly compare this film with Hitchcock; and well they should. The director achieves what he wants from the first two minutes. Performance, cinematography, soundtrack, and dialog instantly set the scene for what's to come. You can't predict just how out of hand things will become, but you can get a pretty good idea after the first few minutes of this film. It's refreshing to see a European so heartily take on suspense, emotion, and drama so early in a picture (They're usually so hesitant to dive right in). Truffaut was the master at this (and his heir-apparent Wim Wenders has done some promising work), but our kind director here truly achieves his aim within minutes of the opening credits. Overall, the film leaves you with topics you're forced to discuss (or at least ponder). This is a keeper. Smartly done. Never patroninzing. A tad predictable, but for my money, one of the best European thrillers in at least five years. A must-have for your collection. You will NOT tire of this film, despite its genre.