FILM CHALLENGE: 178) The Beat That My Heart Skipped

178) The Beat That My Heart Skipped

Director: Jacques Audiard

Year: 2005

Plot Summary: When his deceased mother's old agent offers him an audition as a pianist, 28 year old Tom must decide whether to follow his dream of playing piano or continue working for his father as a criminal.

A terrific crime drama from one of the genre's best modern directors, Jacques Audiard portrays a brutal yet tender insight into the world of a young criminal trying to decide his path in life. On one hand, he has been successful as a criminal, following in the footsteps of his ageing father. On the other, his passion had always been for the piano until his mother tragically passed away. When his mother's old agent promises to audition him for a job as a concert pianist, he faces the difficult decision of which road he should take.

There's a fantastic contrast in Tom between his life as a criminal and his other life as a wannabe pianist. In the former, he has a haunting and rough edge to him as he, without a moments pause, will unleash rats into an apartment complex in order to drive out its tenants or put a knife to the neck of a shop owner. However, in the latter, he has a far more sensitive and innocent side; though the anger and the edginess remains, we see his passion and delicacy in these moments when he is sat behind the piano.

These contrasts create a wonderful insight into the position in which Tom finds himself. As you watch The Beat That My Heart Skipped, you truly feel that he is standing at a fork in the road and, therefore, understand his dilemma as to which path he should take; to carry on following in his father's footsteps or to honour the path that his deceased mother would have liked him to follow.

The relationship that Tom has with his father is one of the most striking elements of Audiard's film. With the man growing increasingly weak, Tom finds himself in the position of looking after him. As the prologue suggests, it's as if Tom is now the father. Having to take care of him - putting him to bed and picking him up when he has hurt himself - leaves the main character feeling trapped in his lifestyle as a criminal and unable to escape and pursue the path that he so desperately wants to. There's a moving moment in the film's final act in which he begs a former girlfriend of his father to get back with him in order to take care of him so that Tom doesn't have to.

Similarly, the relationship with his friends enforce this idea that Tom cannot allow himself to be completely independent. He jumps to the orders of his colleagues even in the most unreasonable of circumstances such as lying to their wives when they go out to have an affair or going on a job for them in the early hours of the morning when he has an audition the next day. In many ways, these aspects make The Beat That My Heart Skipped play out almost like a coming of age story.

With the entire film riding on one character, the lead performance is crucial to the success of the picture. Romain Duris steps up to the task and gives a powerhouse performance as Tom that is comparable to De Niro's breakout role in Mean Streets or Brando's incredible role in On The Waterfront.

Up there with the best crime films of the noughties, The Beat That My Heart Skipped is another unique crime drama from Jacques Audiard who, along with the success of A Prophet, is a director that is worth keeping a very close eye on.

4/5

By Daniel Sarath with 2 comments