The Big Picture (2010 film)

The Big Picture (French original title L'Homme qui voulait vivre sa vie – "The man who wanted to live his life") is a 2010 French psychological thriller directed by Éric Lartigau, and starring Romain Duris, Marina Foïs, Niels Arestrup and Catherine Deneuve. The story is adapted from the 1997 novel The Big Picture by Douglas Kennedy.

Synopsis

Paul Exben is a remarkable success story: a partner in one of Paris's most prestigious law firms, boasting a substantial salary, a spacious home, a glamorous wife, and two sons who could easily grace the pages of a high-end fashion catalog. However, his world shatters when he uncovers his wife Sarah's affair with Greg Kremer, a local photographer. In a moment of passionate fury, Paul commits a fatal mistake. As he stands over the lifeless body of his wife's lover, Paul comprehends that his once-perfect life is irreversibly shattered.

But rather than succumb to his grim circumstances, Paul decides to seize a radical opportunity. Assuming the identity of the deceased man, he escapes to a remote region in former Yugoslavia, nestled along the enchanting Adriatic coast. In this secluded refuge, Paul is granted a second chance at being true to himself and, finally, gaining a profound perspective on the grand tapestry of life.

Cast

• Romain Duris - Paul Exben
• Marina Foïs - Sarah Exben
• Niels Arestrup - Bartholomé
• Branka Katić - Ivana
• Catherine Deneuve - Anne
• Éric Ruf - Grégoire Kremer

Reception

The film was critically praised. Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 88% based on reviews from 41 critics, with an average score of 7/10.

References

External links

• The Big Picture at the British Film Institute
• The Big Picture at the British Board of Film Classification
• The Big Picture at IMDb
• The Big Picture at AllMovie
• The Big Picture at the TCM Movie Database
• The Big Picture at Metacritic
• The Big Picture at Box Office Mojo
• The Observer, 24 July 2011: The Big Picture — review Retrieved 2012-12-03
• Background article by Michel Guerrin on Antoine D'Agata's photography for the film, in Le Monde, 2 novembre 2010. [in French]