Switch (2011)

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Of course the film begins with a long set-up, and the lead actress smiling for about 10 minutes to really emphasise how pleased she is to be arriving in Paris. No non-Canadian actress would ever do that IMO. Anyway, the catastrophe is bad when it occurs: the horrid sight of French cops in raiding outfits, led by ---- yes, Eric Cantona. I saw him play for Manchester at Chelsea football ground and the Chelsea audience hated and baited him. It was something. But playing a detective, a bit dumb at first, but finally quite sharp, he is absolutely excellent. I certainly hope we see him more. The same goes for Karine Vanasse, who has lovely breasts and doesn't mind displaying them. She also is a great screamer. Two big talents for one small Quebecois lady. The movie turns into a complicated genetic mystery and the wicked killer is another gorgeous blonde. She is shot stone dead by Eric at the end. Very satisfying, as Karine, whose legs have been horribly broken, gasps: "I didn't do it". Definitely to be watched.

I have watched this movie, almost accidentally on TV, while switching channels, and stay up to the end... and apart for some gross incoherences in the scenario (as described in some former reviews), some facts are too unbelievable. I was however really impressed by the way the action was shown on the screen.... The two cameras filming is particularly well adapted for the running chases.... which are definitely worth to see, showing an impressing dexterity of the filming team as well as the cutting team. You feel well the dispair of the running girl and the perseverance of the pursuing cop, at some moment you could think she will resign but she goes on... very well done... Some stair chase viewpoints are very unusual, and fun to see, like slipping on a ramp, but very well rendered... Cantona is a credible police detective, I have liked his pugnacity, and the distress of the victim is well perceived too. This will provide me incentive to investigate deeper the posterious work of this promising director and cinematographer...

The premise itself is anything but new, so you won't (or shouldn't) be too surprised when the story kicks in. Of course if you don't shut off your brain (as the main character apparently did here), you will have some issues with some of the decisions she makes. Or rather doesn't make, which is more than unfortunate. But if you don't really care about the logic, this will be a tension filled thriller.The lead performance is good (again not accounting for internal logic) and it Cantona sort of plays a Tommy Lee Jones inspired character. But softer if you can believe that (I know). A nice little french thriller that is decent enough to watch then

Frederic Schoendoerffer is really a great director. One of the best in the french crime movie industry, I mean. This story is written by the famous best seller novelist Jean-Christophe Grangé - author of LES RIVIERES POURPRES and some other features. If you are already familiar with his books, you'll guess that this film gives us a serial killer scheme. Vicious, weird, disgusting, nasty, totally f...up with all the juicy details...But it is also a complex topic too hard to explain in details. I did not follow everything in this tale. Sorry. One sequence reminds us POINT BREAK, when Reeves pursuits Swayze through houses, streets and backyards...This topic is really in the line of the new fashion french thriller- inspired by the American one: POUR ELLE, A BOUT PORTANT, LA PROIE...where the lead is suspected to be a criminal and he has to prove his innocence. Nothing unusual. But it is a fast paced flick, well done, with of course a predictable ending.An ending very abrupt too.Eric Cantona, the famous former soccer player, gives here an astonishing performance. So does the lead actress.