Pour elle (2008)
Directed by Fred Cavayé

Film Review

Love Story or Mission Impossible?  Pour elle is one of those films which at first look impressive until you start applying the plausibility test (i.e. ask yourself: would any of this happen in the real world?), at which point it falls down faster and more resoundingly than the walls of Jericho.  A truly incredible plot (which owes quite a lot to Kafka) provides the flimsiest of pretexts for a prison break-out movie of the American variety.  It is a shame that the story is so far-fetched because Pour elle is, its plot contrivances notwithstanding, quite a well-made thriller.  The film is directed with flair, vibrantly shot, slickly edited, and energised by a strong central performance from Vincent Lindon.   For his debut feature, Fred Cavayé could have done a lot worse.  If only he had hired a decent scriptwriter instead of taking on the job himself.

The film poses that age-old question: how far would you go to show someone you loved them?   Guillaume Canet addressed this question (mercifully without reference to chocolate confectionary) in his earlier, and far superior thriller, Ne le dis à personne (2006), and did so without venturing into a parallel universe in which policemen knock down your front door at breakfast time and drag you off to prison before you have finished your Coco Pops.  If Pour Elle tells us anything it is that Fred Cavayé is either blissfully ignorant of criminal procedure in modern day France or has been watching far too many American crime series.

It is not only the film's plot that lacks credibility; the characters are pretty unconvincing as well.  Vincent Lindon at least makes an attempt to bring some reality to his part, although you have to wonder how desperate, stupid or obsessed a man must be to do what his mule-headed character does in this film.  The rest of the cast can't even be bothered to act, so no wonder their characters resemble the walking clichés that they are.  Diane Kruger's character does little to endear her to use with her self-pitying histrionics and you can't help wishing that someone would put her out of her misery, Tarantino-style.  Mired in toe-curling pathos and absurd plot contrivance, Pour elle would be a very hard sell if it were not for Cavayé's superb direction and Lindon's solid performance.  For some, however, even this may not be enough to bridge the daunting credibility gap.

Film Synopsis

Julien and Lisa are a married couple who have been leading a perfectly happy life together for some years.  They have a young son and couldn't be more ordinary if they tried.  But then, one day, their life becomes very extraordinary.  It begins when policemen coming knocking on their door with an warrant for Lisa's arrest.  It seems the young woman has been charged with murder - a crime of which she is totally unaware.  Knowing his wife to be innocent, Julien can do nothing as she is arrested, put on trial and sent to prison for twenty years.  It is an injustice that Julien cannot accept.  The system has failed him, so it is up to him, and him alone, to put things right.

There is no alternative but for Julien to help Lisa escape from prison.  To that end, he obtains two false passports and goes about selling the house belonging to his mother-in-law, so that he can raise the cash he needs for his daring operation.  On discovering that his wife is about to be transferred to a more secure prison, Julien has to bring his plans forward.  In a panic, he robs and kills one of his underworld contacts.  Time is fast running out, so the desperate husband has to move fast if he is to prevent his wife from becoming the victim of a judicial process that has gone horribly awry...