Redwarmin This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

Grimerlana Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

Brendon Jones It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Jonah Abbott There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

gridoon2018 The first half of "Roman De Gare" is riveting: the way writer-director Claude Lelouch, aided and abetted by Dominique Pinon's masterfully ambivalent performance, keeps us considering several different possibilities, and expecting the worst, brings to mind the classic Alfred Hitchcock rule about how suspense is created when you show the bomb WITHOUT having it explode. But after one key question is answered, the film loses some momentum, and the final revelations are not quite as thrilling as you'd wish them to be. Still, it's beautifully photographed, and the two women completing the main acting trio - newcomer Audrey Dana and veteran Fanny Ardant - are also exceptional. **1/2 out of 4.

FilmCriticLalitRao France is a country where every person thinks of himself/herself as a writer or a writer in making as intellectualism runs high in French society.This is one of the reasons why book publishing industry is a major business in France which can give severe headaches to other leading traditional businesses such as cheese,wine and tourism.It does not matter to some writers that their books are not read extensively. It is precisely this artistic predicament French author Claude Lelouch has attempted to depict in his latest film "Roman De Gare"/Crossed Tracks.It is a pity that such a film with some cogent inventive elements falls flat primarily due to its technical as well as artistic shortcomings. One of the plausible reasons could be the fact that "Roman De Gare" is very much French in nature. A viewer should have a fairly good idea of French culture and language in order to comprehend hidden sub-themes.There are no many non Francophones who would be aware of culturally relevant facts such as : a) Gilbert Bécaud is a famous french singer, b) Pierre Ambroise François Choderlos De Laclos wrote "Les Liaisons Dangereuses", c) Serge Moati is not effective when he parodies French talk show host Michel Drucker's famous "Vivement Dimanche" show. Is it a mere coincidence that Claude Lelouch has decided to name his film's protagonist as Pierre Laclos ? A thriller is bound to fail if it does not have universal appeal.A glaring example of Frenchiness in "Roman De Gare" is revealed in scenes where we behold writers drafting their books on a luxury yacht sipping champagne unlike great writers of the past who toiled enormously in order to get their works acclaimed. In the past, Claude Lelouch has made better works. His film "La Belle Histoire" is a great exercise in occult film-making. It is rather unfortunate that "Roman De Gare" could not turn out to be a piece of cake for Mr. Claude Lelouch as he is no Alfred Hitchcock of France. A word about casting which is a downright disaster. It is great that Dominique Pinon has bagged the biggest role of his career but it is wasted as "Roman De Gare" is full of banal dialogs. Fanny Ardant acts so badly that one can easily hazard a guess that her mentor Monsieur Truffaut must be shamelessly groveling in his grave. She appears more as a boring jet-set socialite who does not know anything about writing. There is some air of crime,wine,book and cinema which would surely keep audiences on edge of their seats but after a while everything would become plain. This is something which audiences must keep in mind when they go to watch this film.

Amy Adler Judith Ralitzer (Fanny Ardant) is a major French writer, or so the world thinks. The truth is that another writer, Pierre (Dominique Pinon) has been "ghosting" her books for seven years. The duo are to meet in Cannes to discuss their future endeavors. Ms. Ralitzer was also once married to a wealthy vineyard owner who died relatively young. Did she have anything to do with his death? Meanwhile, Huguette (Audrey Dana) is traveling with her doctor-fiancé to her parents' home in southern France. Alas, they have a big fight and Huguette is abandoned by her intended at a petrol station. In the station's coffee shop, she meets a kind gentleman who offers her a ride. What she doesn't know is that a serial killer, who employed magic tricks to snare his victims, has escaped from a French prison. Should she accept this stranger's offer? At this same moment, too, a Parisian wife reports that her husband is missing and doesn't know which way to turn. However, she does like the looks of the detective assigned to the case! This is an intriguing film with plenty of energy and suspense. The cast is quite nice, also, with Ardant giving a nice turn as the arrogant writer. Dana, too, makes a beautiful, mixed-up heroine. Pinon does not have the looks of a leading man but is quite fine as the major male lead while the rest of the cast is more than adequate. Naturally, the scenery in France is beautiful but one might be surprised at the rustic nature of Huguette's family abode where there is not the least hint of sophistication. One must also compliment the well-chosen costumes, the fascinating script and the sure direction of Claude Leloush. If you are searching for a film that will render an alternative movie experience from the standard Hollywood fare, do roam to the theater and plunk down some dough for this one. You will not be disappointed.

Howard Schumann A serial killer is on the loose in the vicinity of Paris, described on radio broadcasts as a magician who lures young women with magic tricks. Meanwhile, a young woman, Huguette (Audrey Dana), is dumped at a gas station by her fiancé on the way to her parent's farm in the French Alps. Stalked by an intriguing older man (Dominique Pinon) who is also a magician, she accepts a ride with him to the South of France. Who is this strange-looking unshaven man whose eyes are unreadable? Is he the serial killer?, a lonely man looking for a pickup?, the teacher whose distraught wife has notified the police about his disappearance?, or perhaps a writer in search of a character and a plot? And why is Judith Ralitzer (Fanny Ardant), a phenomenally successful novelist, being questioned by the French police about the disappearance of her secretary. These questions and many more tantalize us in Claude Lelouch's playfully intense thriller Roman de Gare, a film with more twists and turns than California Highway 1 at Big Sur. Our first impressions of Huguette (Dana) are not positive, though Audrey Dana is quite impressive in her first starring role. After a very slow fade out, we find ourselves speeding along a French highway. Traveling with her excitable fiancé Paul (Cyrille Eldin) to visit her parents and teenage daughter, the young woman, who is either a hairdresser or a hooker or both, makes life miserable for her lover.Smoking non-stop, self-pitying, whiny, and, in her own descriptive phrase, acting like an "airhead", Huguette drives Paul to the snapping point. Though he tries to remain calm, he finally abandons her at a gas station and unceremoniously drives off. Huguette is now subject to the whims of Pierre Laclos (Pinon), the mysterious stranger who asks her repeatedly if she wants a ride even though she tells him to please leave her alone. After many hours, the young woman relents and asks him to drive her to her parent's farm in the French Alps and, to save face, to pretend to be the fiancé who dumped her. The scenes in which Pierre attempts to convince her mother (Myriam Boyer) that he is a doctor and they are in fact lovers expecting to be married (there is a trumped up sex scene with a lot of heavy breathing) are very funny especially since the mother is a suspicious sort who questions everything including why she does not know her supposed fiancé's cellphone number.Roman de Gare translates as "airport novel," a book you might read on a trip and then toss when you arrive at your destination, but the film is more than just lighthearted fluff. It is a smart and very enjoyable suspense caper that is about pretenses and appearances and who we really are behind our masks. (Lelouche states in an interview that we put too much emphasis on looks in relating to one another). In the film no one is who they seem to be. Pierre tells Huguette that he is Judith Ralitzer's ghostwriter then denies it, though he claims to be driving her car. Although as in most films of this ilk, when all the pieces of the puzzle are in place, the end result is not half as intriguing as the process of trying to fit it together. Yet, Lelouch, Oscar winner for A Man and a Woman, has fashioned a tale of intrigue and deceit that has a vibrant energy that bubbles along with the style of a plot-driven Hitchcockian film of the sixties. I was half expecting Cary Grant or Grace Kelly to show up.