Anything for Her (2008)

Very disappointed :(

Disappointment for a huge fan!

n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

I've only just recently started streaming foreign films, so obviously iv'e seen the Hollywood remake of this movie before this one. "Pour Elle" aka "Anything For Her" is a good drama/thriller. The remake clearly copied 90% of this film, i like the remake and i like this original one. This one is more gritty and more harsh than the updated version. I knew the outcome of the story but i still wanted to rent the original, amazon prime video have it available and i don't regret spending money on it.Both movies are just as good as each other, there is one thing that stands out which is the escape scene, in this original version there are aspects mainly at the beginning of the escape scene before they enter the apartment where it is very edge of your seat thrilling - more thrilling than the remake beginning escape scene, however the second half of the escape scene is not as thrilling as the second half of the escape scene from the remake version.Overall, "Pour Elle" is a must-watch. If you like "The Next Three Days" then you will like this French original version. If you don't mind subtitles then this flick is worth renting.

Julien and Lisa Auclert, and their little son Oscar, are a middle class family living in a suburb of Paris. He is a teacher and she works in an office. One day Lisa has a scuffle with her superior at the office. That supervisor is found dead in the basement parking of the building. Her car was parked next to Lisa's. One night, Lisa, going home, found what appeared to be a fire extinguisher in front of her own car, she takes it on her hands to get it out of the way. As it happens, it was the murder weapon and she becomes the prime suspect. Eventually, she is found guilty and sent to prison.Julien's world falls apart. To complicate things, Lisa is a diabetic who must take her insulin every day. He finds himself in a predicament he never thought possible. In spite of the fact that Lisa is innocent, there is circumstantial evidence that condemns her. All efforts to get her out fail. What can Julian do? Little it seems. Going to see a man that has written a book about his own ordeal with the law, Julian learns the basics of what to do, and what to avoid if he wants to get Lisa out.First of all is the financial aspect of what he wants Lisa to escape the prison where she is serving her sentence. Then there is a problem of where to go, far away from France to a place that might offer the security of not being hunted by Interpol. Julien must get new identities for the three of them. He begins selling his possessions. Every penny counts to get what he wants. He makes a mistake in going to the wrong guy to ask for false papers. The man turns out to be a thief. He gets lucky from an unknown source and gets the new passports.The problem is how to get Lisa out from the prison. Julien begins to study carefully the planned rescue of Lisa. Using his own apartment to prepare his plan, he begins exploring every possibility. Using one wall of the apartment, he keeps scheming. For the amount of money he must have to get out of the country, Julien figures he will hit on the man that duped him out of getting the first set of identification papers. It does not come without problems as he is wounded but not too bad, or life threatening. The main problem is how to get Lisa out of prison, but Julien has it all planned to the last detail."Pour elle" is an intense film with thriller overtones, directed with style by Fred Cavaye, making his full length film debut. The director shares writing credit with Gillaume Lemans. Like all thrillers, there are aspects of the story that just do not make sense, but viewers that appreciate the genre will probably not complain about those holes in the plot, that otherwise is played to its maximum effect. The prison escape, especially is something that might fall in that category, but one makes concessions because basically one is rooting for Julien all along as he embraces the cause of Lisa from the start, fighting against all odds to get her out.The film belongs to Vincent Lindon, who gets better and better with each new project where he is asked to participate. His Julien is a man determined to take justice in his own hands to reunite his family at all costs. Diane Kruger, seen as Lisa, has little to do, spending most of the film inside the prison.

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning Julien (Vincent Lindon) is a french bloke who's about to settle down to have a nice meal with his wife Lisa (Diane Kruger) and son, when the police raid his apartment and arrest Lisa on suspicion of murdering her boss. She's innocent, but too much plausible evidence is stacked against her and she looks set to spend a long time in jail for a crime she didn't commit. With everything going wrong, Julien mounts a plan to spring her from the nick and is driven to desperate lengths to see his plan through.This small, independent film first took me by surprise during the opening credits which had french writing all over them. I had been looking forward to seeing Mesrine which is one of the more well known french films to have come out lately, but this looked like a normal American sort of lesser known film, but then I see it's all in french?!? Anyway, that shouldn't be a major problem and it isn't- and this is a decent thriller with quite a high concept idea behind the storyline which is driven with some solid drama and thrilling gusto. It's a bit too unremarkable to have much of an effect beyond that, but it's nice to know our continental neighbours can carry off their own legs. ***

This is a terrific film ,and does exactly what cinema should do - it makes you think, and is very entertaining. You can't just slump in front of a film like this, shovelling popcorn down your front. You have to join in. What would YOU do if someone you loved so passionately was wronged by the law? This takes it to the full extent; taking the law into your own hands - its spaghetti era Eastwood - type storytelling, told with passion, humour and guile. Cinematically, its great - how come the French so seldom make bad looking films? The acting is fantastic, with both leads acquitting themselves with great style. Like most good thriller films, it goes close to stretching credibility at times, but never veers into the ridiculous or implausible. Also weaved into the film is a vein of good fortune which drives the story along and seems in the end to be their just dessert. One small criticism; it seemed set up for a sequel - surely film makers of such taste would not lead down that road? No sequel thanks -it stands as a great piece of work as it is.Leave well alone.