The Adversary Reviews

I already saw this movie, in fact, I even saw it when it was released in the movie theaters, but since it was ages ago, I was quite eager to check it out again. It is basically an obscure French movie but I thought the whole thing was just spellbinding to behold. The main character was played by Daniel Auteuil, one of the most famous French actors (at least, in France...) and the movie was based on some rather amazing true story and, apparently, except for changing the names, Nicole Garcia mostly followed the actual facts of this case (especially how it ended). The first time around, I mostly focused on the story itself (which also inspired 'L'emploi du temps', another strong French movie) but, with this rewatch, I paid more attention to the rest of the movie. Indeed, it is such a dark and oppressive movie, I was actually surprised by how tough it was to (re)watch the damned thing. Still, the main character was so fascinating. Basically, it was about a guy who wanted to play the 'game' of life but didn't want to follow the rules and it is staggering that he managed to keep this up for almost 20 years. I have to admit that I have always been fascinated by con artists but this movie (and 'Kajillionaire' as well by the way) displayed how incredibly depressing this kind of lifestyle could be. In this case, the guy was so lonely, it seemed to be unbearable, even to me who is not actually really fond of people in general. Anyway, the whole thing was just so intense and I thought it was just fascinating to behold. To conclude, I thought it was one of the best French thrillers I have seen and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in French movies.