Artwork courtesy of Why Not Productions

Jacques Audiard’s latest film, starring Romain Duris as the son of a loan shark who wants to escape his father and the criminal lives they lead, is a French remake of James Tobart’s 1978 noir cult classic, FINGERS. By day, Tom Sayr (Duris) practices for a shot at being a concert pianist. At night, he collects debts for his gangster father. Sound like an episode of The Sopranos? Not unless AJ knows how to speak French.

In THE BEAT THAT MY HEART SKIPPED, the two things Tom has in common with AJ Soprano are “family” ties and the dream of being a musician. OK, so maybe AJ doesn’t exactly dream of being a musician; but, AJ is the son of a gangster, and he tries to play the drums. So what? Maybe I am reaching a little. At any rate, what separates these two similar mob kids the fact that AJ’s knows he will never be a musician; whereas, Tom just can’t seem to give up the dream.

On the nights when Tom is not collecting debts for his father (played by Neils Arestrup), he dumps live rats on the squatters living in his father’s buildings and makes shady real estate deals. One day, after he finishes roughing up one of his dad’s business associates, Tom has a chance encounter with his mother’s former music agent who asks him if would like to audition for him. Of course, Tom jumps at the opportunity; but, for some unknown reason, he manages to hire a piano coach who doesn’t speak a lick of French to help him prepare. In the meantime, when he is not beating up people for his father or practicing the one Bach song he knows, Tom is having sex with the girlfriend of the Russian mobster from whom he is trying to collect as well as his own friend's wife. Looks like he has a little bit of Tony Soprano in him after all.

The psychological depth Audiard gives to his tormented protagonist by overlapping Tom’s opposing worlds makes me wonder if he is also a patient of Dr.Melphi's. On one hand, Tom's business partners think he is getting too soft to be an effective criminal when he starts missing meetings. Yet, when he plays for his piano coach, she gestures to him that his performance is stiff and robotic; implying the influence of his criminal life. I can see where Audiard is trying to go by blending these barriers; but, I am just not able to accept Tom as a real musician.

Romaine Duris’ performance during the scenes in which Tom plays “air piano” or taps his fingers on the bar in a restaurant bothers me because his’ arm and finger gestures are ridiculously over-exaggerated. His “performance” looks unnaturally forced; and, the only message Duris is able to convey about his character during these scenes is that Tom is trying too hard to be something he is not – a natural musician. Strangely enough, Duris’ inability to convince me he is a musician is not entirely his fault. Because his performance throughout the rest of the film is superb, the person to blame is the director for not knowing his subject material. Obviously, Jacques Audiard was never a musician; and, because he lacks the insight into this particular aspect of Tom’s character, Audiard is unable to direct him on how to be a musician.

Even the end of the film reiterates just how misguided Tom really is. The final image starts with a medium close up of a physically battered Tom sitting in the audience of a concert hall; and, as the camera slowly pulls back, we see just how out of place he looks. Tom’s blood-stained tuxedo and bruised face separate him from the rest of the audience members to show us that once again he is trying to be someone he is not meant to be, living in a world in which he doesn’t belong.

I have to admit that, at times, I can let the fact that I am a musician get in the way of being able to overlook certain musical peccadilloes. However, once I came to terms with my overly critical view of Tom’s venture into the world of music, I have to admit that I enjoyed this film. The gangster element resonates with the same sentimentality as The Sopranos; and, after awhile, these characters begin to grow on you. The emotions underlying the character of Tom run deep enough to allow us inside his troubled world – as musically challenged as it might be.