The Beat That My Heart Skipped

Instead of finishing one of the six or seven drafts of posts I've written, I'm going to review this film that I saw last night. Since it came out I have wanted to see it, and I realise now that such expectations are more than likely to be disappointed. The film is good, certainly - intelligent, thought-provoking, and brilliantly acted - but it is not great. It follows Thomas Seyr, played by Romain Duris, an estate agent/rent enforcer not afraid to use violence, who rediscovers his love of the piano (his mother was a concert pianist), and trains for an audition which might get him out of his situation. Various things, as you might expect, contrive to bring him back to it. This set-up is compelling, but it is the film's finale which lets it down. I don't think I am giving away too much when I say that most of the action takes place over a few days, perhaps a week, but then all of the tension that is built up over this short timespan is dissipated when we suddenly jump forward several years. Many of the issues that we've become involved with, including relationships, are forgotten. All hope of a climax is thrown aside. The opening monologue, which had seemed as if it was important, turns out to be neither predictive or profound. Moreover, what is the beat that his heart skipped? This film has all the elements to be great, but somehow fails to put them together in the right order.