La Proie (2011)
Directed by Eric Valette

Film Review

If there is one genre where French cinema has traditionally struggled to keep pace with its American counterpart it is surely the full-bodied action thriller.   This may be down to budget - such films come with a price tag that is way beyond the means of most French film directors - but it may also be down to the fact that French filmmakers are generally far more concerned with characterisation and truthful representations of life than plot.  It's not easy to construct a fast-moving action thriller when the main protagonists are angst-ridden depressives desperately searching for meaning in their lives whilst languorously pursuing a string of unfulfilling romantic liaisons (that being the brief for virtually every French film since 1895).  This may be changing, however.  Over the past decade, a new wave of French filmmakers have come to the fore who, having grown up on the latest species of adrenaline-pumping Hollywood action thriller, have discovered how to replicate a genre which, in most people's mind, is the very antithesis of the archetypal French movie.  Eric Valette belongs to this generation and his latest film La Proie (a.k.a. The Prey) is proof conclusive that the French can turn out a spanking good chase thriller if the will and the Euros are there.

After a slow and somewhat unpromising beginning (which sluggishly works its way through every prison cliché you care to think of) La Proie suddenly gets off the ground with a vengeance.  As the film goes charging off like a mad thing (fuelled by those two great forces of nature: a father's desire to save his daughter from an evil child molester and a cop's determination to salvage his reputation), you hardly notice that there is virtually nothing to the plot.  Avoiding intrusive special effects and other cinematic gimmickry, the film feels more realistic and has somewhat more depth to it than the average Hollywood action film, but it is every bit as fast-moving and compelling.  It is a pity that Valette didn't put as much effort into the screenplay as he did into his direction, as the plot and wafer-thin characterisation are the only things that count against the film.  That said, Valette assembles a superb cast and their performances are such that this hardly matters.

Albert Dupontel is ideal casting for the heroic lead, one of the few French actors who has the physicality for a demanding action role and the ability to play the everyman character convincingly and sympathetically (and he reputedly did all of his own stunts).   Another casting coup is that of Stéphane Debac and Natacha Régnier - they make the unlikeliest pair of serial killers you can imagine and this is why their characters are so utterly chilling.  It's become a bit of a cliché, but the scariest villains are those you least suspect of being capable of villainy.  Sergi López is a surprising choice for the driven cop who leads the police hunt, but his manic Latin persona makes an effective contrast with the more level-headed Alice Taglioni, whose character leaves us in no doubt that a woman can be as tough as any man, if not tougher, when the occasion arises.

Towards the end, as the film surges towards its tension-filled climax like a banker alighting on his end-of-year bonus, credibility is perhaps stretched a little too far.  As everyone and his dog seems to be chasing after everybody else (and their dogs), the film risks turning into an absurd parody of a chase thriller.  You half expect the camera crew to suddenly enter the frame, hotly pursued by an irate film director and his team of sound technicians, à la Monty Python.  Still, Eric Valette somehow manages to steer the film away from the unintended comedy abyss and it ends as well as it might.  If you don't expect anything too profound of it, La Proie is an enjoyable runaround action movie, imaginatively directed, well-paced and well performed by some fine film actors.   To its credit, the film does not content itself with being a mere imitation of the American action thriller - it has a definite French identity, one that is refreshingly devoid of nombrilistic introspection and self-conscious auteur posturing.  It may not be everyone's idea of a French film classic, but La Proie is a respectable action romp for those who much prefer Peckinpah to Proust.

Film Synopsis

Hunted by the police, escaped convict Franck Adrien knows that the odds are not stacked in his favour as he goes chasing after the criminal who got him into this mess.  Now he laughs at the idea that he could ever have trusted a man like Jean-Louis Maurel, a psychopath who cares for no one but himself.  Franck first met Maurel when he was in prison, serving a stretch for robbery.  He knew that Maurel was going to be released in a few days, so it seemed like a good idea at the time to ask him to recover the booty from his last heist and deliver it to his financially distressed wife.  He had no reason to distrust Maurel, at the time.  Then Franck discovered that the man he had put his trust in was a dangerous killer... 

Fearing for the safety of his wife and daughter, Franck had no choice but to break out of prison and get to Maurel before he got to them.  The one thing he hadn't allowed for was his opponent's cunning.  Maurel has an easy job turning the tables on him, making it seem to the police that Franck is the marauding psychopath.  Now, within hours of his prison escape, Franck has the honour of being Public Enemy Number One.  The police are hunting him in droves and are sure to get to him before he can get to Maurel.  But whilst Franck may not have reckoned on Maurel's vile cunning, Maurel has surely underestimated his enemy's determination to find him and clear his name.  The hunt is only just beginning - and it is not yet certain who is the hunter and who is the prey...