Jacques Audiard (A Prophet) transforms Craig Davidson’s stories into a white-knuckle portrait of two damaged individuals who find hope in each other.
Ali (Matthias Schoenaerts) arrives in Antibes where he hopes to find work to support his son. Getting a job as a bouncer, he encounters Stéphanie (Marion Cotillard) one night. Protect her in a fight, he escorts her home. She works in a marine park, but soon after that encounter Stéphanie is involved in an accident and wakes up in hospital to find her legs have been amputated. Distraught, she calls Ali and a tentative relationship develops. Ali’s desire to be a fighter is spurred on by Stéphanie, but their life together faces obstacles that they could never forsee. French cinema’s preeminent crime director, Audiard and regular co-screenwriter Thomas Bidegain are also master storytellers and here they skilfully – and brilliantly – weave together Davidson’s short stories to create a wonderful tale of sacrifice and redemption. And if that weren’t enough, rarely has a contemporary pop song been employed so effectively in a film as Katy Perry’s Firework is here.
