Tiré à part
1996 Thriller / Drama
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Credits
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Summary
Edward Lamb, the owner of a small publishing house, is surprised when he receives a manuscript
from a French author, Nicholas Fabry. Unlike Fabry’s earlier literary attempts,
this is a masterpiece, a work which will undoubtedly earn him wealth and celebrity.
However, on reading the manuscript, Lamb discovers that Fabry was responsible for the
death of the only woman he loved. Determined to have his revenge, the publisher
contrives an elaborate plot to make it appear that Fabry plagiarised an earlier work and
thereby bring about the writer’s ruin.
Review
With this meticulous, ice-cold suspense thriller, Bernard Rapp realised one of his most
personal ambitions - to enter the world of film-making - after a hugely successful career
as a television journalist and writer in France. Although Rapp’s decision
to have the dialogue split between French and English was probably a mistake (it is certainly
an irritation for those who are not bilingual), Tiré à part is nonetheless
an impressive first film, with some wonderfully pleasing Hitchcockian moments. The
intensely brooding mood of the piece (which is largely brought about by Terence Stamp’s
masterfully de-humanised performance) is evident in Rapp’s later films, which, as here,
take a deliciously wry look at the darker side of human nature.
© James Travers 2003 Write a review for this film... |
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