With A Friend Like Harry

Rating:
Summary: Not As Good As the National Reviews Are Saying
Review: Pretty good, but nothing special. A rather forgettable little thriller

Rating:
Summary: hitchcock pleasing
Review: this film was a huge hit in france (english subtitles here in the states). strong, tight and gripping plot. excellent acting. reminds me very much of a hitchcock thriller. i won't say more but highly recommended...

Rating:
Summary: A REAL PAL
Review: The darkest of black comedies, and the best French film of 2000, "WITH A FRIEND LIKE HARRY" (Miramax, $33), arrives on DVD with a slight title change (originally "Harry, he's here to help") and an English dub. Going into too much story detail will spoil the viewing experience.

Even a simple summary does not do justice to the dangerously wicked unfolding of the story that starts when two guys Michael (Laurent Lucas) and Harry (Sergi Lopez) bump into each other in the men's rooms of a rural gas station. It seems they went to school together but haven't seen each other for at least a decade. Harry vividly recalls some good times that don't seem to mean much to Michael.

Harry and his fiance end up at the country home of Michael, his wife and two screaming kids. Michael tells Harry, who is rich, about the pressure of helping his aging parents and problems with his scheming brother. This is a slick, ironic, taught, cynical, intense and unexpected thriller, minimalistically written and stylishly directed by Dominik Moll. Finishing the implied title phrase ("With a friend like Harry ... who needs enemies?") is not giving away any secrets because in actuality, scary Harry is only the id to Michael's ego. Watch it in French with English subtitles, it's even better. Or worse. Depending on your frame of mind.

Rating:
Summary: Disturbing film that is not for all tastes.
Review: WIith a Friend Like Harry is a silently terrifying psychological thriller that builds from a sedate family story into a suspenseful horror scenario with the use of spine-tingling cinematography and simple acts of manipulation. There is almost no violence in the film, and the shock value is minimal. Instead, the film relies on the piercing reality of the story it tells, on the intuition of its viewers, and on good old-fashionedscared-of-the-dark fear.

In the frenzied heat of midsummer, Michel (Laurent Lucas), his wife Claire (Mathilde Seigner), and their three young daughters are on vacation, headed toward their summer home. Much in need of a some relaxing time off, the family retreats to the secluded stone country house they bought a few years back. Though they have been working hard to restore the place, it has a few minor hazards that need fixing--such the deep, empty well hidden in the back yard. However, before the family even arrives at the house, they encounter Harry Ballestero (Sergi Lopez), who claims to have known Michel in high school. Though Michel doesn't quite remember Harry, he remembers Michel with intense clarity. Harry can recite from memory the poetry Michel wrote for the school journal, and treats Michel like a brother. So begins the family's odd relationship with the smilingly intense Harry and his flaky girlfriend, Plum (Sophie Guillemin), who impose themselves on the family with suffocating congeniality.

While the plot is one that has been done countless times, the film slowly manages to build a sense of overwhelming claustrophobia and jolting suspense. The ending is creepy, made even more disturbing by keeping all the secrets a secret. We never know what motivates the characters to do what they do, adding an extra sense of unease and fear to the story. It comes as no surprise that many people did not like this film, it is definitely not for all tastes, but for anyone who likes unsettling thrillers will enjoy this. It's a standard plot that turns itself into a pretty good thriller.

Rating:
Summary: Too obvious, or not obvious enough?
Review: If only you didn't have all these distractions, then you would write that work of genius, which your high-school doodlings clearly anticipated, and your life would be marvellously fulfilled. Or, failing that, you could buy that ridiculously large, environmentally disastrous, SUV, the one with the air scoop on the bonnet, and, boy, your life would be just great.
*
OK. So what happens if these simplistic wishes are magically realised? Not much. But dramatising this idiotic frame of mind to which, it seems, pretty much all of as are prone to, can produce a blackly comic movie.
*
The director, Dominik Moll, presses on the whole mentality of seeing life as a series of problems with solutions. It's a mentality he allies with the mistake of reducing the complexity of the world to a falsely simple and falsely circumscibed realm, a realm in which one can potentially be master. Thus we have the figure of Michel's father, a dentist, who finds fixing his son's teeth much easier than fixing their mutual relationship, and who keeps a vivid memory of Harry's dentition, but of little else. Of course, this is a tangential example, for the focus of the film lies with Michel and his alter ego Harry.
*
Michel has his problems. The children, his finances, the strain on his marital relationship, his domineering parents. If only his rich father could simply support him (and then die, leaving him to look after the estate), and if only he were childless, and his wife, rather than being an equal, were a subservient concubine: wouldn't life be free of problems? He would have Harry's life, including the big black Mercedes. Not only would he consume his fair share of eggs, he would suddenly have his creative forces unleashed from their bourgeois chains, and works of great literary power would roll forth. Heaven help those who did not take his poetry seriously, such as his wastrel brother: death shall be summarily dispensed with a crowbar to the head. Yet pouring forth this wealth of literary gold, while hunched upon the throne in his fuchsia coloured bathroom, might cost Michel his wife and children, and this might be (slightly) too high a price to pay. So better spare their lives and take the Mitsubishi 4WD and ditch the Mercedes and the sex-kitten (in a deep well). This is, roughly speaking, the lesson Michel learns as he journeys through the film.
*
It's kind of worthy, but also, I thought, a bit too obvious and didactic. Youth aspires to creativity, and middle age to security. If you actually did kill all the people you momentarily think you'd like out of your way, then, even if no punitive repercussions follow, you'd still have problems. Yes, right, fine. Good points and, along with the critique of problem-based living, enough to sustain a decent film, but there's something a bit trite about it all, and something a bit wearing about the film's style. Still, perfectly watchable, although the genre of the suspense thriller is, ultimately, a less than perfect disguise for the true intent of the film.
*
One review rightly mentioned this being a variant of the Faust legend, and another speculated that Harry was not real, but I'm surprised that most just assumed that this film is basically macabre realism. Even more surprising is the claim that the characters are well drawn. Hardly any 'realistic' questions are asked about the 'characters' of Harry and Prune, which is just as well, as no answers, of a 'realistic' nature, are to be had - Harry has no motivation of his own (of course not, he is a voice, an aspect, of Michel) and Prune is the sleepy sexual shell of a woman (a fantasy, Michel's if not others'). All these external representations or embodiments of a character's internal psychology are typical moves in French films, yet they are not recognised as such by the majority of viewers (see The Piano Teacher, Baise-Moi, and countless more for variants on this scheme). Should the film-maker be even more obvious? It's sad to even ask this question.
*
Parallels with Hitchcock have been made. For mine, Hitchcock was far more obtuse with his psychological correspondences - his stories worked better on the crudely realistic level. Yet clearly there was heaven knows what lurking underneath. With Moll, the underneath is far too close to the surface (but, again, my criticism could well be reversed, given the apparent response of much of the film's audience).
*
Another way of expressing Moll's point would be to say that Michel can't see all the things that make his life truly his life, a failing that we all share, and ironically one that is, in a sense, manifest in the typical response to Moll's film. The film then can be taken as a warning against wish-fulfillment, or, more interestingly, as a warning against seeing life as a series of wishes to be fulfilled, but also as an exploration of the limitations of the imagination. As an example of the latter, perhaps one reason people dream of the death of their parents for some ulterior gain (as we can take events in the movie dramatising) is because they can not imagine what their world would be like after such a grievous loss - it is literally unimaginable in detail, with the emotions and reactions only dimly anticipated; nor are people great at imagining the actual taste of their life in the wake of great success (thus Michel/Harry gets what he wants, but in the dream world of the movie it remains starkly unreal, unsatisfying, and hardly worth aspriring towards). Another tale that explores all of this, in a completely different manner, is Shakespeare's Macbeth. Indeed, all Shakespeare's tragedies can be read as such explorations. Which is definitely not to say that Moll approaches Shakespeare, but at least he is trying.

Rating:
Summary: Friendship, Obsession, Murder: A First-Rate Movie
Review: This French film starts with a car ride. Michel (Laurent Lucas) and his wife and three young daughters are driving from Paris to a rundown country cottage they bought and hope to fix up over time. It's hot, the three little girls are fussing and crying and kicking the backs of the seats. Michel is trying to stay calm. His wife is upset as she tries to settle the girls.

The movie ends with another car ride. Michel is driving the family back to Paris. He looks with great love at his wife as she dozes next to him. He looks back at his children with tenderness and contentment as they lie next to each other sound asleep. He looks at the manuscript of a long story he has written.

In between shouldn't happen to anyone.

At a rest stop on the family's drive to the cottage, Michel encounters by chance Harry, (Sergi Lopez) a man who went to school with him, a man he can't remember but Harry remembers him. When Michel was in school he wrote stories, and Harry remembers every word. Harry stands a little too close, shakes hands a little too long, is a little too pleasant. He's traveling with his girlfriend, Plum, but somehow manages to be invited to the cottage for drinks. Michel, when Harry asks, says he works as a teacher in Paris. What does Harry do? He used to live off his father, he says, but "then my father died and now I manage his money."

Harry believes that every problem needs a solution. When Michel's old car breaks down, Harry buys him a new 4x4, far out of proportion as a gift from a friend. Michel and his wife protest, but Harry says "Why complicate life? I wanted to give you a present." Harry wants Michel to be happy and to write, and he wants Michel's friendship. And problems need solutions. Michel's parents at times make Michel unhappy. After they die in a car accident, Michel's brother finds one of Michel's old stories and makes fun of it. Later Harry explains that Michel's brother won't be returning to the cottage, that he decided to hitchhike back to the city where he lives.

Harry decides that his girlfriend, Plum, is a problem for his relationship with Michel that needs a solution. And then Harry decides that Michel's wife and small children are a problem.

This is a first-rate movie, part thriller, partly a study in murderous obsession. Laurent Lucas does a fine job as Michel. Michel is an honest guy who loves his family, who gave up trying to write, who is frazzled, who is just a little weak. He can't deal firmly with his parents, he tends to let his wife discipline their kids when they act up, and he finds it difficult to just say No to Harry as Harry gradually works his way into Michel's life. Lucas is a good looking actor but he's not pretty. He's believable as the character. Sergi Lopez as Harry brings a great deal of calm, unsettling friendliness to his role. When he stops smiling, you know the character is going to do something unpleasant. Lopez played Sneaky in Dirty Pretty Things.

I recommend this movie. The DVD picture is excellent.

Rating:
Summary: No one wants a friend like Harry, trust me
Review: This movie is a great thriller!

When a man, his wife and daughters go on summer holiday, a man meets an old high school classmate, Harry, and a surprising thriller ensues.

Not a movie for the whole family, but definitely a very interesting film if you run into it at the video store or if you like french film.

I give it 5 stars because it is eery and laid out very well. If you enjoy thrillers, you MUST pick this up!

Rating:
Summary: Gives ironic meaning to "The Dagger in the Close of Night."
Review: Michel (Laurent Lucas), a French ESL teacher on holiday with his family, unexpectedly runs into Harry (Sergi Lopez) when the family stops for lunch on the way to their remote country house. Harry recognizes Michel immediately as a former school acquaintance and the author of "The Dagger in the Close of Night," a poem Michel wrote in high school and which Harry has memorized. Michel does not remember Harry at all but invites him to spend the night with the family in the country. The relationship becomes more complex as the stay is extended, and both Michel and Harry begin to change. Suspense builds, leading to a grand climax.

This darkly amusing noir drama is filled with irony. Michel and his wife Claire (Mathilde Seigner), two ordinary people, are the parents of three screaming and bickering little girls, and they never seem to get enough time together, so their invitation to Harry is surprising. They need a vacation, yet they are reluctant to ask Harry and Prune, the stereotyped, clueless blonde (Sophie Guillemin) accompanying him, to leave when they stay too long. Harry is distressed to see that Michel no longer has the leisure or the motivation to write but has no clue that this may be a choice, and he actively encourages Michel to resume writing, even while in the bathroom. Other obvious ironies evolve with ensuing events.

Directed by Dominik Moll, who also wrote the screenplay with Gilles Marchand, the film develops slowly. The accident of Harry's meeting with Michel is so bizarre that the viewer may wonder if the meeting is a set-up, and Harry's motivation for his strange behavior is not completely clear, both problems creating more a sense of puzzlement than suspense.

Matthieu Poirot-Delpech's cinematography of the setting in southern France and David Whittaker's romantically moody piano and string music help create a sense of mystery. Sergi Lopez is a terrific Harry, a bumbling and seemingly good-hearted admirer of Michel, and Laurent Lucas as Michel is a suitably frazzled and somewhat overwhelmed teacher on vacation. The film is fun to watch, but I found the lack of clarity regarding motivation to be a problem in the building of suspense and the black humor not strong enough to carry the rest of the film (3.5 stars) Mary Whipple


Rating:
Summary: You have to overreact.
Review: The opening scene to this film is what immediately pulled me into the story, characters, and emotions. The consistent nagging of our main character's children pulled not only at Michel's mind, but also deeply into ours. This sets the stage, while already having your emotions and sense heightened, for the meeting of Harry, Michel's counterpoint in the film. A classic combination of American Psycho and Swimming Pool, our two characters and everything surrounding them pull us in every direction. From confusion, to suspicion, to fear, and even disbelief, we watch as a simple friend, and unknown acquaintance becomes so deeply rooted in this struggling family. Director Dominik Moll has done his homework in this genre and successfully creates a film that not only tantalizes, but also settles in deep inside you releasing snippets of fear throughout the story. His camera angles, structure, and deeply rooted character development make this little, almost unknown, thriller a step above the others out there.

As I said before, Dominik Moll does a great job directing. It is obvious from the opening credits until the chilling ending that he is very comfortable with the genre and the material. There are some amazing scenes that boldly stick out in my mind, and that is a great sign that the director has gone well beyond his duties to create a powerful film. Outside of the direction, which does stand on its own, we also have some of the best casting around. Sergi Lopez literally steals every scene in this film. His charisma, quiet demeanor, and sinister eyes keep our eyes focused directly on him at all time. Moll gives us nothing about Lopez's Harry, which makes him even more watchable. He is curious and slippery all at the same time. We are never quite handed the reason for Harry's persistence with Michel's writing or the back-story on how these two met (the circumstances that apparently effected Harry's life), and it works in this film. I am notorious for needing more stories to accentuate the characters, but in Harry, un ami qui vous veut du bien, none is needed. The suspense is built by not knowing and it really sends a chill up your spine.

Talking a bit more about the characters, I loved the way that Plum was handled. Who was she? Why did she always seem to know what Harry was doing? To me, that was some of the more frightening elements of this film. Plum had a secret, and I really wanted to know what it was. You can never trust Harry, which makes me wonder what was the truth and what were lies that he spoke about. Strangely, the way that I saw it, Harry never lied. Outside of the dirty deeds that he sometimes did, he was a pretty honest guy and I think that was his way of winning over Michel's support. On a side note, could you not see this film being remade using Robin Williams as the role of Harry. After seeing him in One Hour Photo and Insomnia, I could see him pulling off a role similar to this (also, Lopez sometimes looked exactly like Williams). Oh well, it was just a thought.

What kept this film going was the simplicity of the story. It was obvious that Moll used the ever-popular direction known as "K.I.S.S." (Keep It Simple Stupid) to keep his audience focused on the characters that were in front of them. This was a character-based film that, like an onion, had layers upon layers of emotions. There were no elaborate sets, no twists and turns, no sudden jumping that would detract us from the story, it was a simple story with amazing characters, nothing more ... nothing less. For this film, it worked.

Finally, I would like to take you on a thought journey if you wouldn't mind. Think about this for a moment as you finish reading this review. I thought of this after watching the film and as I typed this review. What if there was no Harry? What if Harry was just a figure of a broken man's imagination? From the opening scene we see the tension that Michel is feeling about his life and family, why is it impossible to think that perhaps he created Harry out of thin air to help him through the rough times. We all think of times in our lives that we wished we could go back to, perhaps Michel's time was when he was writing. Writing seemed to ultimately make him happy, so why not dream of a way of getting back there. When it got to scary for Michel (breakdown was pushing him away from those that he loved), is when he had to deal with Harry. I know there are logistical issues with this thought process, for example conversations and so forth, but it was a thought I had as this film seemed to wrap up. Maybe others feel the same, perhaps I am crazy, who knows ... only I will know when I approach you as a lost friend next time you are at a rest area.

Overall, very impressive work by everyone involved. I thought that the story was tight, the characters were immensely disturbing and exciting at the same time, and the images decorated the film very well. I would suggest it to anyone that loved Swimming Pool, the structure is very similar ... except one is sex and the other is writing. They do go together ... don't they?

Grade: **** out of *****

Rating:
Summary: Unique Talent Restored Through Psychopath...
Review: Every human being has a unique talent, but the question is whether the person recognizes the talent and cultivates it. Throughout life people are faced with a decision that will influence their life and this decision could have devastating affects on the growth of unique talent. Sometimes the person might only need a little help to get started, but in extreme occasions the person might need drastic changes in order to nurture their exceptional skill. With a Friend Like Harry pinpoints this notion in an eerie suspenseful drama where an unfamiliar person has established that the talent exists within the person and strangers decide to make sure that the skill is refined.

Michael (Laurent Lucas) is a school teacher and family man with three daughters, a car with too many miles, a summerhouse that is in dire need of restoration and an income too small to afford a change of life style. The situation is increasingly stressful for Michael who wants to deal with all of his hassles by himself. The stress in Michael's life also leads to strain between him and his wife, Claire (Mathilde Seigner). On a trip to the summerhouse when the children are crying and complaining about the heat in the car, they stop for refreshments. When Michael visits the pit stop's bathroom he bumps into a man who appears have been in the same school as him in his adolescence. This man is Henry.

One of the first things Henry asks Michael is whether he is still writing as he remembers his writing from high school. Michael, who barely has time for himself, has not written since high school. Later the audience witnesses Henry in a bizarre scene where he recites a long poem, which Michael wrote in high school. Henry, who defines himself as a problem solver, as he has unlimited amounts of time since he has a small fortune which he inherited from his father, wants to help Michael to get back to writing at any costs.

Dominik Moll directs a well-written script into a first-rate psychological thriller where the help goes too far as it proves to be lethal to anyone who stands in the way of Harry and his mission. The cast also provides an excellent performance as the characters feel genuine, to which the audience can relate. Last, but not least, the mise-en-scene is brilliant as it elevates the impression that each scene has on the audience. For example, Michael's parental intrusion into his life is brilliantly depicted through the pink bathroom that they have provided for their son and his family.