QA Romain Duris & Heartbreaker / L'arnacoeur Screening & Review

Alex is charming, funny, effortlessly cool, and most importantly, irresistible to women. He offers a professional service – to break up relationships.

With his resourceful sister Mélanie and her eccentric husband Marc, Alex offers a professional service – to break up relationships. In just a few weeks, for a fee equivalent to his reputation, he promises to transform any husband, fiancé or boyfriend into an ex. Hideouts, phone-tapping, fake identities, a devastating smile, anything goes when it comes to fulfilling his contract.

Juliette is a young, beautiful, free-spirited and independent heiress. In ten days she’s due to marry the man of her dreams, much to her father’s disapproval.

When Alex is hired to break up this seemingly perfect couple he is thrown into a action-filled race against time, taking him through the sun-drenched streets of Paris to the fast cars and high fashion of Monaco, in his own hilarious seduction “mission impossible” that risks him being caught by his ruthless personal creditors, an army of angry exes, and Juliette herself.

But worst of all, will he discover to his own cost that when it comes to love, the perfect plan doesn’t exist?

Already a record-breaking hit in Europe, Heartbreaker is a wildly funny and passionate tale that is set to be the romantic comedy event of the year.

The Everyman is delighted to welcome Mr. Heartbreaker himself to Hampstead for this special screening! Star of the movie, Romain Duris, will be in attendance for a live Q&A alongside a preview screening of the film. The event will be hosted by Electric Sheep's Virginié Selavy, who will also provide an introduction to the film.

We have seen Heartbreaker / L'arnacoeur and it may be the perfect way for the ladies to escape the heat this Summer. But here are four things that should be noted to give some context to my thoughts on Heartbreaker:

1 - I think the lead Romain Duris is an immense talent. He was absolutely astounding in De battre mon coeur s'est arrêté (The Beat That My Heart Skipped) an earlier masterpiece from Jacques Audiard (Director of A Prophet / Un prophète) so my expectations are very high for his performance. There is actually sweet nod to My Heart Skipped in Hearbreaker.

2 - Even though I have been known to be a hopeless romantic I do lean heavily towards psychological, action and crime films.

3 - I thought Dirty Dancing was lame the first time I saw it.

4 - I represented half the male audience for the screening I - it was date night OK!. Come to think of it this was a very similar scenario to when I saw Dirty Dancing.

If you cannot relate to any of the points above you'll probably love Heartbreaker.

As far as sweet romantic chick flicks go I thought it was OK. I do prefer my films slightly darker and deeper but once I let go - Duris's charisma carries most of the film. There are many laugh out loud moments in the film. The audience were laughing and generally happy & buzzing the whole way through the film.

My biggest issue with the film may actually be put down to cultural nuances or subtleties being lost in translation, as I struggled to gain emotional traction in the shift in Duris's character from the start to the finish. I saw what what was happening I just didn't feel it.

To be fair I'll probably watch it again on DVD at some point so that like Dirty Dancing I'll see it as a good girl film. I do think there is a gap for light European romances and hope that Heartbreaker fills that gap because I would like to see more from both Romain Duris and Vanessa Paradis.

Director: Pascal Chaumeil
Starring: Romain Duris, Vanessa Paradis, Andrew Lincoln, Julie Ferrier, François Damiens

France 2010, 105 mins, French with English subtitles

QA Romain Duris & Heartbreaker / L'arnacoeur Screening & Review

Where:
Everyman Hamstead, 5 Hollybush Vale, NW3 6TX

When:
6:30pm, Mon 28 Jun, 2010

More info:
Over at the Everyman website