In the first moments of Eric Lartigau’s thriller, Paul Exben (Romain Duris) answers the call of the baby monitor and rises to comfort his crying son, while his wife (Marina Foïs) stays asleep. Thus is it guaranteed that this handsome yuppie, who’s about to have a spectacular midlife crisis, will have the sympathy of almost every woman in the audience.
Paul’s job as an attorney is so cushy it includes Catherine Deneuve as a boss, but he’s deeply unhappy. His wife is having an affair with Greg (Eric Ruf), a photographer Paul openly envies. A violent confrontation between the two leaves Greg dead. Paul hides out by adopting Greg’s identity, right down to his camera and passport. He gets a new life, at the cost of separation from his two sons and constant fear of discovery.
Based on a novel by Douglas Kennedy, the movie has the intense psychological focus of the late Claude Chabrol, if not Chabrol’s graceful camerawork. Much of the plot stretches credulity, but the way it’s constructed keeps tension high. Paul is in nearly every scene, and Duris’ charismatic performance — melancholy but never sullen — is the strongest part of a strong tale about the limits of male fantasies.