Really Surprised!

A lot of fun.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

This film is a complete failure! Because the plot doesn't recognize its own roots. It is supposed to be a thriller and a thriller is based in logical thinking, you take that out and the whole thing falls apart. The most important scene to establish this thing as a thriller is an auto crash accident that happens while Robert Miller (Richard Gere) is driving on a highway with his mistress Julie Cote (Laetitia Casta) in the passenger's seat. It so happens that Robert gets injured in the body and head but Julie dies. This crucial scene and the physical happenings tell you clearly that this is an accident. His reactions are rather ambivalent, is he angry? Is he sad? Is he sorry? Is he regretful? Perhaps all of this and none of it. Impossible to tell by his reactions that are all of these and more but cool. Nevertheless Robert gets panic and acts as if he has murdered her and tries by all means to cover up the whole thing. But not only that; the script of the film takes for granted that this is a crime and that Robert has deliberate murdered Julie. Robert appears to be the leader of a huge international conglomerate of very rich companies that require solid thinking and decision making. But no, after the accident Robert acts like a teenager without experience and leaves the scene of the accident in panic because he as well as the director of this film is convinced that he is a murderer. A real guy in the shoes of Robert would've called an ambulance trying to save the life of Julie, now that would've been the normal thing to do, but then you wouldn't have had this film. The result is a film in a created and artificial environment and therefore a failure as a thriller. It would've been better for the plot and the logistics of the film to do just that, be bolder, go for it the whole way, that's when good films are created: let Robert kill Julie. She was pressing him both with money and sentimentally, that would've been enough motives to create a credible crime scene leaving the rest of the film as it is and therefore a much better thriller.

a good cast. a decent script. a not bad movie. not perfect but useful for discover an interesting performance by Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon in an impeccable role and a thriller who search be different. the story is far to be perfect - many holes, not the best solutions- but it has the right balance to be acceptable. and Richard Gere has the virtue to do a good job, using the possibilities of his character in a conventional manner. but the last feeling is something missing. or is fake.maybe for the moral lessons, maybe for not the great courage or for the old ways who are not the inspired choices. but, after the end, the good parts are too small for ignore the confusion of few scenes or the film as a lesson not really convincing. but, short, a decent movie. that is all.

I wasn't expecting too much from 'Abitrage,' but I was pleasantly surprised, based on the cast. If it wasn't for the performance of (mainly) Richard Gere, this would have been a very formulaic thriller. At some parts, it still feels a little like an extended TV episode.As I said, Richard Gere carries this entire movie, playing a - partly - despicable character, who at the same time, we find we can root for. He doesn't make the right choices throughout the movie but that's what keeps his character interesting and helps to let the movie move along, even during its slower moments. It's the sort of thriller where everything starts to go from bad to worse for its main character, when his lies and actions only get him in more and deeper problems and drags those close to him down, along with him.However, not all the characters are as good as Gere's - the story really under uses Susan Sarandon, who could had given the movie a whole other dimension and more depth. She does the best with what's given to her, but there could have been so much more for her to do. As is Tim Roth, who just plays a stereotypical New York detective. When he shows up you think he is going to play a big and important role for this movie but in fact there are large portions of the movie in which his character plays no role at all.I still really enjoyed this thriller and at times was even loving it. It's definitely a better than average genre attempt, despite still having a very standard and familiar type of premise and story in it. So in essence, nothing surprising but it's all still very well made and acted out by its impressive cast, which already is worth the price alone.http://thewrongtreemoviereviews.blogspot.co.uk/

The story is about the businessman Robert Miller - how he sees things, how he hears things, how he thinks! And he thinks "The world events all revolve around five things - "M" "O" "N" "E" "Y" . So he takes a great risk in his business investing a huge amount and it turns out to be a failure. So he now falsifies his company accounts and try to get a good deal with which he thinks his problems will get solved. He is so desperate to conclude the deal and it keeps dragging a bit. His personal life threatens with more problems that might cancel the deal which is the most important thing for him now. How he handles them is the story .The story is a kind of drama but never lags in keeping the audience interested and engaged anticipating whats gonna be the next move by Miller to solve his problems. Very interesting aspect of all is that his wife and daughter are equally as smart as him making him difficult to handle. The political move which Mrs. Miller makes towards the end shows the smartness in the character after showing most of the ignorance from the beginning.Holding the story causing no harm to any character with his major fraudulent act is something positive to look upon .