De battre mon coeur s'est arrêté

In many ways this French film reminds me of "Good Will Hunting" and the old William Holden film "Golden Boy" combined--though it is far better than either of these previous films.

Thomas (Romain Duris) is a very unsavory young man. His job is a sleazy one--he dispossesses squatters from apartments. In France, it is NOT easy to legally dispossess these folks--so Thomas and his thuggish friends beat the crap out of them or toss rats into the apartments to get the folks to leave. It seems that Thomas learned a lot from his ne'er do well father. However, hidden within is a part of his dead mother. The woman was a concert pianist and Thomas had this as his career goal as well. And, when Thomas happens to see his mother's old manager, the dream of being a respected pianist reignites within him. But just practicing the piano and improving his skills isn't enough- -he must decide if he wants to become respectable or remain a thug. Through much of the film, Thomas bounces back and forth between the two extremes. Where will Thomas eventually land?

The film is much better than the other films mentioned because Thomas' journey wasn't fast and his change wasn't complete and magical. In the other films, the problem was just too black and white and the changes unrealistic. Here, however, with a better script and a really nice performance by Duris, you've got a really compelling film. My only reservation is that this is NOT a film for everyone--it's very violent, sexual and not a neat picture that follow the expected formula. Well worth seeing regardless.