The Last Diamond

If you can get over the initial quite unbelievable premise that auction dealer Julia (Berenice Bejo) would take up some sort of private contract with (impersonating) security consultant Simon (Yvan Attal) with absolutely minimal background checks and then not mention the arrangement at all with any of the board members of her company, you'll probably quite enjoy French heist film, The Last Diamond. Me, sorry it was a contrivance too far and so early in the film. It pretty much reduced everything that followed to the lowest common denominator.

It's a caper piece whose tone abruptly changes from jaunty to rather serious two - thirds of the way through the movie. Sometimes this sort of stuff can work in the best films (Bonnie and Clyde), but mostly it doesn't really hit the mark, as in this feature. Neither does the romantic angle believably happen with the 2 leads, who are competent in their roles, but lack any sort of passionate chemistry together.

It is usually interesting seeing how these Mission Impossible style burglaries and cons play out and things are not really different here. A mitigating factor though is it's never really made clear who's running the show. Every thing seems to hinge on Simon's planning and actions, but he doesn't seem to be a major player and we're never really sure what is motivating him to get back in the game. His buddy Albert (Jean - Francois Stevenin, didn't need to work hard to overcome Simon's initial (I've retired) reluctance.

The storyline attempts to set us up for some third act twists, that really feel more like run of the mill red herrings. There's nothing much unexpected here, though some punters, may appreciate the action quota, being dialled up a notch or two. Eric Barbier directs proceedings in a workmanlike manner and the Belgian locations are very appropriate, seeing Antwerp is often cited as being the "diamond capital" of the world. However though reasonable entertainment, The Last Diamond is a crime caper that is never any where near as polished, as it's titular subject.