Racer and the Jailbird (2017)

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

As Good As It Gets

Absolutely the worst movie.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Well ... It's a very well made film, with a great cast, lead and supporting; it does have a few less than believable aspects to the plot I must say. But the first part is sort of the car racing + heist film you were promised.Anyway, yeah, the first part is fine - plenty of chemistry between Gigi and Bibi, lots of action, it looks like it's going somewhere ... and then where it goes is rather dark. And then from there, it turns utterly bleak. Forlorn, sad, depressing; you name it. I felt like there was a dark cloud hanging over me afterwards, and I'm surprised my dreams that night weren't darker than they were. I generally like noir, but this was a bit much for me. Some people have a higher tolerance for that sort of thing than I do though. C'est la vie.

Taking risks makes some feel alive. Both Bibi and Gigi, a racecar driver and sophisticated thief, are the type. True to nature, they fall for each other on first sight and quickly dispense with the formalities. "Do not bring flowers," says Bibi. Not that she needed to warn him. Bibi and Gigi share a danger addiction. Distance feeds their adrenaline, and attraction. "Do not lie to me," warns Bibi, yet she cannot get enough of it. What attracts is also what tears apart. The poor one among them who fails to keep pace with the other, or who runs too far away! Please, I thought at the start, do not let Bibi rescue Gigi in a car at any point during the film. The more the premise of the film and the nature of the characters is revealed, the less one needs to worry about this. The Bibi/Gigi chemistry is palpable. The best part of the film is the tension between the main characters, waiting to see who is going to crack first. Matthias Schoenaerts (Gigi) is reunited with the director of Bullhead. Bullhead is darkly amazing, and it is where Schoenaerts achieved well deserved notoriety, but the duo did not repeat the magic here. More depth is needed to the plot, supporting characters, sound and cinematography. Seen at the Miami Film Festival.

I paid 1 euro to see this film. Still too much money.The first third of the movie is promising. There are impressive scenes and stunts. A twist I didn't see coming in the shape of a character who was not at all what she seemed. It's (mostly) engaging as it works towards a climax. After that, the story is as stagnant as the lives of the main characters.Where at first I was waiting for the female lead to come to her senses, as the movie progresses it becomes clear neither of the lead characters have any sense. They are two-dimensional and boring. Cliché is heaped upon cliché to propel the story forward. Except it doesn't, it just turns the movie into a weird mix of crime- and melodrama with a whiff of kitchen sink realism.It seems like the filmmaker wanted to tell a story of obsessional love. But since there is no substance to the relationship of the couple the entire movie revolves around, there is no substance to the film. Every sex scene (supposedly to show their passion for each other) consists of Schoenaerts mechanically drilling his much younger co-star. They have nothing to talk about and the sex only gets him off. How is that any motivation for the girl to turn herself into a self-sacrificing saint? How is that guy worth her or my time? (And did the women's lib movement skip Belgium?)Another theme in the movie is the tragic, abusive background of Schoenaerts' character. How he himself can't explain his own actions. It all reeks of literary movements like determinism and naturalism. As if he can't help it, it's his background that turned him into a criminal. It could have been excellent material to flesh out a character. Instead it just leads to Schoenaerts making the same face over and over again. If you're going to make a movie about dynamic characters robbing banks and racing cars maybe next time don't mix it with a tale of pre-determined fate that has people stuck like a hamster in a wheel. One pretty much cancels out the other.The movie looks much better than most movies that come out of the Netherlands (good for you, Belgium). There were definitely people involved who knew what they were doing in terms of the look of the movie, the action sequences, the locations, the way the camera is handled. But ultimately this is a crap story that wastes the talent of its cast and crew.

Before I start this review, it is important to note that I am Belgian and because of this my experience in this movie is different. With this out of the way, let's start with a short synopsis of the film without spoiling any big plot points.The movie tells the story of Gigi and Bibi, two people with completely different backgrounds who fall in love in Brussels. Gigi (Matthias Schoenaerts) is a gangster who robs banks while he pretends to be a car salesman. He was abused as a child,t he only people he could rely on in his childhood were his friends. Later on he started robbing banks with this same group of friends. Bibi (Adèle Exarchopoulos) on the other hand comes from a loving and upper class family. Because of the support of her father she could become a professional racer. From here, the story unfolds.The performance by Matthias Schoenaerts is, once again, spot on. He delivers a perfect bilingual performance as Gigi the gangster who eventually sees the light. The other actors as, especially Adèle Exarchopoulos, shine as well. The story is divided in 3 parts, all with their own theme. The first is called 'Gigi' and is about the evasion Gino uses on his loved ones. The second, 'Bibi', shows the kindness and effort Bibi puts into her lover and the ways she tries him to make up for himself. The third and final chapter shows the redemption of Gino after facing some serious setbacks.The movie is thrilling and touching at the same time, not leaving you untouched for one moment. Above all the last scene of the movie where the camera flies through the streets of Brussels, metaphorically saying that Gigi roams the streets of Brussels with as only purpose to find the lover he lost.Highly recommend it. 9/10