Comme un homme (2012)

Directed by: Safy Nebbou | 95 minutes | drama | Actors: Emile Berling, Charles Berling, Sarah Stern, Kévin Azaïs, Mireille Perrier, Patrick Bonnel, Pierre Lottin

Louis is a sixteen-year-old teenager who, along with his friend Greg, kidnapped their English teacher. Greg threatened her with a knife at school and was expelled from school. To get revenge, they plan to kidnap her for one night and then release her. Soon, Louis realizes that Greg has many sinister plans and wants nothing more to do with the kidnapping. Meanwhile, he tries to keep his secret from his father, who is the director of his school. But then Greg has a serious car accident and falls into a coma. Louis is the only one who knows where his English teacher is and slowly but surely he begins to take care of her.

‘Comme un homme’ starts without words, but it is immediately clear who is in charge. Louis and Greg take the teacher to a swamp and dump her in a shed. Greg is the bad guy and Louis just kind of follows after it. Why the two are friends is never clear and that’s because the focus of the film is on the relationship between Louis and his father. It is difficult to name, to say the least, because of the death of Louis’ mother. The two have clearly not yet come to terms with her death and they barely communicate. Louis retires to his room or goes to Greg while the father is absorbed in his work. Father and son in the film are also father and son in real life (Charles and Emile Berling). It certainly gives their relationship an extra dimension. Yet director Nebbou misses a lot of opportunities. It never really goes into depth with the two and it all feels very chewed up. Because we have seen a difficult relationship between father and son before and in this case also better. It’s not the acting, because the young Emile Berling plays the naive Louis very naturally. Back to the kidnapping, because maybe there’s a little more emotion there. Unfortunately. Camille, the English teacher, comes off badly. She barely appears from the first scene. You see some straggly hair and you hear her screaming. As a viewer you therefore do not make contact with her and you hardly see her as a victim. The moment Camille does play a bigger role, it doesn’t matter anymore and the climax does not come as a surprise.

The advantage of ‘Comme un homme’ is how the contrast between the city and the place where Camille is kept hidden is depicted. Every time Louis goes to her, he has to take a boat through a filthy swamp. It’s like Louis literally goes into the dirt as soon as he goes to Camille. The setting certainly adds something because of the gloomy atmosphere that hangs there. The unsociableness in the large house of Louis and his father also contributes to the cold relationship between father and son.

The script of ‘Comme un homme’ is based on the book by the writer duo Boileau-Narcejac, who are also responsible for the story of “Vertigo” which later got a famous film adaptation by Alfred Hitchcock. The book of ‘Comme un homme’ is therefore more thriller than drama. Perhaps the makers of the film should have stuck to the thriller aspect rather than drama. ‘Comme un homme’ is a mediocre film that misses a lot of opportunities. The excellent acting by father and son unfortunately cannot ensure that the standard story is lifted to a higher level.