Anything for Her

I know that Olivier Marchal only acts here, but still I believe that more than one viewer will be convinced that he was standing behind the camera too. The dismal atmosphere, the hard stares instead of empty blabbing, a vicious dog and suspense; it looks like it came out of his movies. And the chance he took hooking up the Lindon - Kruger duo paid off big time. With this movie Cavayé joins the ever-growing ranks of French filmmakers who have been successfully resuscitating the seemingly dead soul of the dark French crime/thriller wave of the sixties and seventies. Just too bad that we find out right at the start the truth about Lisa. Julien’s determination wouldn’t have wavered even if the opposite were true, and for the viewer the uncertainty (if the truth had remained unrevealed for the entire movie) would have been far more intriguing. (10/25/2009)

A decent crime drama, which approached the story differently than I would expect. However, it did not bother me at all, sometimes there is no harm in seeing a classic theme from a slightly different perspective. As the film does not explain anything at all, it creates a series of questions and that way adds more emphasis on the actors, who in an interplay between Diane Kruger and Vincent Lindon create some nice twists. An interesting film, a little small-scale but it makes it all the more suspenseful. (06/09/2019)

You live your ordinary peaceful bourgeois life and feel safe, protected by your family background, secure job, and supported by state institutions with its police apparatus. The state can be an enemy at most to anarchists and shady elements. However, one day your partner finds herself in the wrong place at the wrong time and you will feel how quickly your protective barriers can crumble, and nothing that was valid yesterday matters anymore. Only sadness remains and a growing determination to stand up against the system, maybe even with a weapon in hand. And so, a serious teacher begins to plan an adventurous escape for his wife from prison and does not hesitate to confront the criminal gang or the numerous and well-coordinated police machinery. Anything for Her is a film about an ordinary guy in a damn heated situation, a film about a great love that is capable of great sacrifices and unimaginable risks. Where most men would prefer a pragmatic relationship with a divorced lady from the neighborhood, the film's protagonist demonstrates an incredible amount of selflessness. Anything for Her breaks away from the usual routine of today's crime stories and moreover, it largely surpasses them with its emotional engagement, credibility, and energy. I have already seen an American remake of it, but I couldn't finish it because it replaces originality with the usual Hollywood routine. Overall impression: 80%. (12/30/2012)

I'm not really a fan of French movies, but Anything for Her was really good! Before The Next Three Days was released I even took it as a full-fledged movie that deserves at least 4 stars. Now that I've seen The Next Three Days, I have to say that Anything for Her deserves "only" those 4 stars. Great job! Exactly my genre... love, charisma, adrenaline, action, drama... (03/12/2011)