Nuit blanche (2011) Reviews

• Strong crime thriller

  TdSmth52016-01-17

  Two masked cops go after some drug dealers and steal their drugs. One of them, Vincent, is injured in the ensuing fight. He's also identified by one of the criminals and witnesses. As a result, the big bad drug lord, Jose, kidnaps Vincent's son to get his drugs back. Now Vincent forcefully explains to his partner Manuel, that he needs the drugs while Manuel wants his cut and needs the money. Later Manuel meets with a crooked internal affairs cop. Vincent retrieves the drugs and goes to Jose's lair, a giant dance club/restaurant/bar/private club for perverts and more. But he was followed by a female IA. She sees him go in the men's restroom with a bag but exit without the bag. So she goes in the men's restroom and finds the bag in the ceiling. She takes it and hides it in the women's restroom ceiling. Vincent with just one little packet of drugs meets Jose and demands to see his son. After Jose checks the drugs and Vincent sees his son he offers to return in a few minutes with the rest of the drugs, which of course aren't there anymore. So he devises a plan and goes to the kitchen and gets the staff to fill packets with flour and put them in a bag. But by now another foreign gang has arrived demanding the drugs from Jose. The ruse works and Vincent gets his son back, but only for a while. He quickly loses his son again to the thugs. Now with no more moves to make he has to get his son back, with Jose and his henchmen after him as well as the two IA agents and Vincent's ex-wife constantly calling him on the phone. Nuit Blanche is quite thrilling at first. Everything up to the point where he loses his son after getting him is very exciting, timing is very important for Vincent and we are on the edge counting the seconds till the foreign drug dealers discover the ruse. Things slow down then for a bit as Vincent has no way out--no drugs, no weapon (he hid his somewhere in the club). But quickly things pick up again as he confronts the IA agents very violently and things get a little funny too as he uses some cute girl he rescued earlier from a pushy guy to hide and escape from all the people after him. Story-wise too there are several twists and turns and things aren't quite as they seem. But, too much time is spent on the son, the ex-wife, kitchen fight scenes. Vincent running through a very crowded club gets repetitive fast. Almost the entire movie is set in the club and despite attempts to give us a variety of environments, it does get tiring after a while. Nevertheless, for a Heat-inspired French action thriller, this movie is worth watching.

• A familiar plot with an unfamiliar setting

  kegs6862013-12-20

  The action in "Sleepless Night" is intense, sure. However, it is not a fight filled, guns blazing extravaganza. The US trailer and comments gave this movie credit with being a mix of Die Hard, 24, and Taken. However, it is much better than Taken, more intelligent than Die Hard, and more unnerving than 24. Tomer Sisley plays Vincent, a cop who moves cocaine for a drug kingpin. However, things take a turn for the worse and Vincent's son is kidnapped by Marciano, the kingpin. Vincent must enter Marciano's nightclub and outsmart the thugs and crooked cops who are both trying to track down Vincent. Sisley's performance is physical and real, his face is often twisted in pain or sadness, or violent rage. His acting impressed me more than all other aspects of the movie. The setting takes place almost entirely in a nightclub, where Vincent is searching for his son while trying to search for the hidden drugs which he must give to Marciano in exchange for his boy. Never have crowds of ordinary people played such an important part in a film. The crowds on the dance floor, stairs, and bathrooms all play significant parts in the film. I felt claustrophobic just watching Vincent try to swim through a mess of bodies numerous times. The lighting and music creates a seemingly frantic pace, of which the movie already has plenty. Another highlight is the fight between Vincent and fellow cop Manuel. It is a very realistic and brutal one. It turns into a desperate, devastating fight where both men are exhausted physically and mentally after wards. They utilize numerous kitchen items and the landscape to try and better one another. There is no fancy fight moves or wall climbing, only ferocity and violence in this fight. I was impressed with the acting and location. The plot is average, but the cast helps elevate it, and you are genuinely concerned for Vincent an his son's well being. It is in French with English subtitles, and I'm glad there was no awful dubbing as is what usually happens. It is a good action movie that impresses with its cinematography and acting. Well worth a viewing or more, especially if you enjoy films like Die Hard or Taken. It more than deserves a spot next to them on the shelf.

• Solid Die Hard-esque action

  FilmPulse2012-05-10

  Sleepless Night, the new French action film written and directed by Frédéric Jardin, combines all the visceral action of a film like Die Hard, with the suspense and urgency of 24. While the film itself doesn't stray too far from the standard action formula, it still manages to take us on fun ride over the course of one crazy night. Shot almost entirely in what appears to be the largest, most labyrinthine night club in the world, Sleepless Night follows Vincent, a cop who ends up on the wrong side of the law, as he attempts to make things right, and save his kidnapped son. Caught between the gangsters that have his child, and the police that are chasing him down, Vincent needs to make his way through the crowded night club and get himself and his son to safety. Although this is not an entirely original concept, the execution of the story is expertly done. Within the first minute of the film, we're thrown into the action, which sets the tone for the rest of the movie. It's fast paced and at times frantic, but does let us catch our breath from time to time. The fact that it also takes place over the course of one night, in one centralized location, also adds to the suspenseful nature of the film. Although the club seems to be enormous, with many back hallways and side rooms, it's also very crowded and feels claustrophobic at times, which helps accentuate the frenzy, along with the ever present thumping of the club's music. Having the entire film take place in this club is an interesting idea, however there are several questions of logic and common sense that are raised. Mainly, the fact that there are numerous gun fights throughout the film, and no one seems to be frightened or call the police. There are also several fights that take place in very public areas, and yet everyone seems to just ignore the fact that men are being killed around them. Personally, if I'm at a club and I hear gunshots, I'm out of there, I don't care if they just started playing that Queen song I love. Logistical problems aside, this is still a fun movie to watch. The fight scenes are very realistic looking and feel very brutal. Instead of going with meticulously choreographed punches and kicks, Jardin decided to go with a more simple approach. The men who are fighting look like there's a purpose to every punch. They are doing it out of necessity, not because it looks flashy. Vincent does everything within his power to fend off his attackers and get to his son. He uses the environment to his advantage, grabbing at anything and everything that will stop the people trying to kill him. Sleepless Night does a lot of borrowing from Die Hard, but still manages to stand on it's own as a top notch action film. With an engaging story, and some excellent fight scenes, this is an easy recommendation for any action fan. It's also been recently announced that this film will be getting an American remake, so it's certainly worth checking out before we ruin it with our own version. Adam FilmPulse.net

• Smart and gritty action thriller, nut dumbed down action flick

  MyTwoCensToo2014-05-04

  Fantastic film. Really tight action thriller. Very well plotted, and very well executed. I saw another reviewer complain because it was not as action packed as the publicity misled him to believe. It just doesn't feel like an American action flick because it doesn't have famous international stars with overgrown muscles saying lapidary lines every time they shoot a bad guy. I love Die Hard too, don't get me wrong, but this is just a different kind of animal. This is reminiscent of Die Hard only in the high concept (one man against lots of bad guys in a confined environment); the tone is much more realistic and gritty. It's not a shoot them all in which they never run out of bullets either, nor a martial arts extravaganza, but action packed it is: it gets relentless. The action is just grounded. The hero here, or anti-hero, maybe, is not the best shot on earth, and is not stronger or a better fighter than anyone else, nor has any special "movie hero" skills. He's really human; he's just more desperate. But that's what makes the film so raw. The stakes feel real. The fights will have you twisting on your seat, not cheering as the hero makes mincemeat of anyone in his path a la Taken. It is not a wish-fulfillment ride, like most Hollywood action flicks, but precisely for that reason it is a very intense ride. It's really gripping. The plot devices (son in danger, etc) don't come out too cheesy and the actors make their characters very believable. The complexity of the plot is easy to follow despite the lack of expository dialog spoon-fed to the audience. We see what the hero sees, realize what he realizes. We realize indeed how bad the odds are for him and we wonder what could he possibly do, as the situation gets worse and worse. We understand the playground and are challenged to guess how is he going to use it. We get to know all the other characters and why they are desperate too, rising the stakes, and we keep peeling them off in layers, unveiling twists and double crossings in an exercise of one upmanship. They don't round it up with a beautiful bow in the end nor every little subplot is tied up with a saccharine sweet epilogue. It is abrupt enough, not complacent with us, while still delivering the required closure. In my view this just adds to the general grit. I highly recommend this film. It felt fresh. Not recognizing every actor also helped make it feel real. The modern day french setting with immigrants from everywhere also helped provide separation from the US or UK set cop dramas that we are used to watch here in the US. Sorry to rant. I just watched it on Netflix and felt compelled to come to IMDb and learn more about it (I had never heard of it before), and then to write this review.

• If you ever saw "No Way Out" then watch this upgrade !

  Objectivity2015-01-12

  If you ever watched Kevin Costner in "No Way Out" and loved it, then watch this upgrade. Wow, wow, wow ! I'll say just one thing : pay real good attention to the dialogues in the kitchen. I intended to watch half this film one night and the rest the next night, as I needed to get up early for work. Forget that !!! This film grabbed me by the throat so intensely I had to watch it till the end and risk a bad day at work. Top notch, from start to finish. The only time you will be able to relax and catch your breath is when you watch the opening credits !