L'adversaire (2002) Reviews

• this is a lie

  dbdumonteil2007-04-25

  A first rate actress, Nicole Gacia also produced films of varying quality: "Un Week-End Sur Deux" (1990) was a estimable piece of work but its follow-up "le Fils Préféré" (1994) got bogged down in a river of clichés. These two works revealed Garcia's strong interest for the family and "L'Adversaire" revives her fascination for it. It is sourced from Emmanuel Carrère's novel which is a true story. On the 09th January 1993, Jean Claude Romand killed his wife, children and parents because he was about to be unmasked. The investigation will reveal that he wasn't a doctor but an impostor who had been lying for eighteen years. The female director changed the names but kept the thread of the last moments of this extreme story. Nicole Garcia walks away with honors and respect of a story which was difficult to shot in its entirety: how to assess a solitary, absent, tormented life of an unfathomable man with elusive thoughts facing the others? Some moments were also unimaginable (the killing of the children but with an accurate sense of directing, by keeping a low profile, by highlighting the somber scenery when her hero is all alone without extreme effects, the female director makes us really feel the loneliness of this mysterious man who just confides his secrets to a videotape. What increases the malaise is that Garcia removed any explanation or even little clues likely to shed light on his demeanor. With Faure's nonsensical actions and as the tragedy looms, the viewer will learn some astounding facts about his past like his refusal to pass his medicine exams in his second year at university. Daniel Auteuil is like good wine: he improves with age and "l'Adversaire" bears witness of it. He's just mind-boggling and it's impossible not to remain indifferent to this incredible experience which really happened.

• Hail Auteuil!

  fiozinho2003-01-09

  The magnificent Daniel Auteuil is ... well ... magnificent once again in this study of a common man whose world turns unaccountably pear-shaped, and who is powerless to get out of the increasingly large hole he's dug for himself. The sequencing of the film is very neatly done - we know from the word 'go' that Faure has done something horrendous, we're pretty sure what it is, and we are led to find out why through a complex series of flashbacks. The art of Auteuil is in his ability to make Faure a sympathetic character, despite his many flaws and the gruesome crime he commits. The painstakingly constructed portrait of a man in torment may get painted on a little too thickly at times, but Auteuil's descent from mixed-up family-man to lethal psychopath is gripping stuff.

• Immediately you know what has happened and still you keep watching it until the end

  philip_vanderveken2005-05-18

  SPOILER: Once in a while you come across a movie about which you know from the first moment on what has happened and still you aren't able to turn it off or to switch to another channel. You keep watching, because you want to know everything about it. Why that is, I don't know, but I find it very intriguing and I guess it only proves the quality of these movies. "L'Adversaire" or "The Adversary" is such a movie. From the first moment on you know that Daniel Auteuil's character Jean-Marc Faure has done something terrible to his family. You know he has murdered his wife and children, but you don't know why. Only when you keep watching until the end you'll see that the man has been living a lie for the past twenty years and that he wasn't able anymore to continue like that. He had made everybody believe that he was a successful doctor, working for a prestigious medical institution. Next to his 'dayjob' he also invested money for his friends and relatives, which in reality he used to live on, buying his family more expensive homes and cars, and sustaining a young mistress for himself. But eventually people wanted to see some returns on their investments or wanted to withdraw large sums that he couldn't possibly give them. So he kept stalling and putting them off until he ran totally out of options and his whole world came crashing down ... resulting in his final, chilling act of desperation. What perhaps is even the most chilling thing about this movie is that it has been based on true events. Yes, if you turn on the news, you regularly get to hear news about a father who has murdered his entire family because they were in big financial problems, but it is never shown in so much detail as it is in this movie. In this movie you get to see, thanks to a complex series of flashbacks, the investigation after the murder, showing how he starts getting into trouble until he has only one option left. I'm pretty sure that a lot of people had to swallow a couple of times when seeing it all and I admit that I was one of them. Next to the chilling story, the acting is something else that deserves noticing. I'm not very familiar with these actors, but they all did a nice job. Especially Daniel Auteuil (the only actor that I have heard of before), who is absolutely terrific. He has managed to help you understand why the man did it, without saying that what the man did was right or wrong. I'm not saying that you'll like the man, but you'll understand him and that's something very special for a movie like this one. All in all this is some very powerful cinema like you don't get to see it very often. Even if you aren't too familiar with the director or with the actors, even when you aren't used to watch foreign movies, you still should give this one a try. It certainly deserves it. I reward this movie with an 8/10.

• Much better than L'emploi du temps

  aveilbrief2005-03-17

  What a chilling experience, this terrific movie. Jean-Marc Faure's loneliness in conference halls and on the highway is so painful that it's hard not to feel compassion for him. All my credits to Auteuil and Garcia for this moving film. As you probably know, L'adversaire was based on a tragedy that truly happened some ten years ago. It didn't just inspire one, but two directors. The other film based on this story is L'emploi du temps, by Laurent Cantet. I watched it yesterday, and I have to admit I was a bit disappointed. Having read the very enthusiastic comments on this site, I expected a film of equal quality as L'adversaire but the latter outclassed it by far. I missed the palpable loneliness and desperateness in l'Adversaire, and Daniel Auteuil is in my opinion simply a more interesting and accomplished actor than Aurélien Recoing. If you haven't seen either of the films, I recommend you watch L'emploi du temps first, or just L'adversaire. It's always interesting to compare, but if you have already seen L'adversaire, you might be in for a little disappointment.

• Oh boy! Auteuil!

  hokeybutt2004-10-09

  THE ADVERSARY (3+ outta 5 stars) Chilling French suspense tale (based on a true story) of a seemingly well-to-do doctor, a husband and father, who turns out to be a complete fraud. He pretends to go to work in a prestigious medical building but all he does is loiter and kill time until he has to return home. He takes money from family and friends, pretending to invest it in foreign ventures... but he just uses their money to live on, buying his family more expensive homes and automobiles (plus a hot, young mistress for himself). But eventually people start demanding to see some returns on their investments... or want to withdraw large sums that the good "doctor" just doesn't have. So he keeps stalling and putting them off until he runs totally out of options and his whole world comes crashing down... resulting in his final, chilling actions. Terrific performance by Daniel Auteuil... who has the difficult job of trying to engender sympathy for a man who deserves none.