A French thriller always has its own special appeal. Carla (played by Emmanuelle Devos) plays a disgruntled secretary who works at a real estate company and is gifted with a special talent: she can read people’s lips. When she hires Paul, an ex-convict on parole as her office assistant (played by a very young Vincent Cassel), the two of them inadvertently get involved in a con in which her unique talent is put to use to decipher the moves of Paul’s lethal adversaries. What transpires is a gripping tale of mind games that build up to a final act that is as brutal as it is unpredictable. Underlining all is the casual love story that develops between the two loners.
Bearing all the hallmarks of a quintessential French thriller – jump cuts and quick transitions between scenes that are marked by their extreme brevity, the plot moves like an arrow. French auteur Jacques Audiard rustles up just the right delicatessen for a hungry weekend viewing.
You can have your fill with READ MY LIPS (2001, France) on MUBI.
Ranjan Das is a Mumbai based filmmaker and faculty.