Rapt (2011)

Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

This movie might be based on the real kidnapping in 1978, but it fits perfectly our murky times. Greed without limits and boundaries produced a whole new species of semi sociopaths. Some of the most savvy and successful people in high business have morality of a Corsican thug. Perhaps they possess a tad more polish and fashion sense, but not much more. Mr. Graff, the victim of this heinous crime doesn't invoke much sympathy. He is vain, cruel and deeply immoral. Exactly what power executive needs. As soon his real nature comes out in press, his business "friends" turn their back on him. It is ironic that the only remotely kind character is one of the kidnappers. Possibly the one assigned the good cop role. Nevertheless this wealthy, affluent world encased in marble and gold, seems empty and void of any real felling. Nothing comes for free in this world, above all money and privilege.

Rapt (2009)This is like other European crime movies I've seen, very detailed and low key, and seemingly very realistic. This one is like the others in that it's sort of interesting all along but rarely compelling. There is, in a weird way, no drama, not in movie terms. The facts are dramatic--kidnapping, torturing the hostage, that kind of thing--but the movie plays it all out in a realistic way that emphasizes police procedure, gentle conversations with loved ones left behind, and lots of waiting with the hostage takers being meanies.It's weird to belittle this movie because in a way it's really competent, even very good if this is what you want. Compared to American (Hollywood) kidnapping scenarios (that Mel Gibson movie comes to mind), this makes the Hollywood versions ridiculous. But at least the Hollywood intention to entertain, to create high drama, is fulfilled. Here, in "Rapt," we are not actually ever rapt (that is, suspended in some kind of riveted attention). If you sort of know this isn't your kind of movie, I'd skip it. If you do like very realistic crime films that are made with great attention and lots of empty spaces (at least psychically), then you might well really like this. In the details, I found the conversations between the family and cops trying to rescue him really dull and not quite believable, and I found the scenes where the hostage takers were roughing up the hostage too prolonged and unnecessary. This alone dragged the whole experience down. For me.It's worth noting that the movie scored many awards in France, and that the Rotten Tomatoes rating is really high for it. The IMDb rating seems more in line, to me, for now (about 6.7 at the time of this writing).

I think some of my good friends here with the other reviews need to watch the film again. Some, not all.Yes, it's a somewhat slow and quiet film, beautifully shot and acted. Though supposedly of some sort of "thriller" genre it is actually a "thrillingly" excellent character study. Not the sort of example of humanity that is gratifying to see however.The main character's kidnapping and two months in captive isolation are essentially a metaphor for his own solitary confinement in his cold narcissism. He is no less his own prisoner than if he had contrived the kidnapping himself, as the police have reason to suspect.When his wife, and daughters, seek some sort of contact and contrition from him for the fact that his betrayals are now a matter of public disgrace, he quite coldly declares that it is himself alone who deserves pity and solace, and that he will explain to no one. His faithful dog is treated with more affection and care.You would naively think that his "ordeal" would effect some sort of transformation of his personality. Sorry, personalities, especially this kind, do not change so easily. He loses one of his fingers, but otherwise is intact. (Want some cheap symbolism? The finger is gone, but he easily lights up that big cigar of self-indulgence.) He knows, and we know, that the kidnappers have left him with a means not just to satisfy them with his money, but to "do the right thing" in preventing the further violent mayhem they threaten. Innocents will be killed at random. He does have the money: his shares of the company have been sold and his lawyer congratulates him for how extremely wealthy he still is. The kidnappers want their full 50 million.The film ends perfectly, I think. He sits alone in his palatial room on a regal chair, with his cigar. His wife is divorcing him, his daughters have been distanced by his coldness and empty claim of love. The "Calypso" message arrives. He sits. My understanding of his character, as it has been portrayed so consistently, is that he thinks to himself something like "that is no concern of mine."

Yes, it is a great film. Very interesting, and solid characters. I can't understand how someone opined that he felt no identity with any characters and feels shortchanged that the ending was not complete. Hell if I can understand people who write their comments like their opinion rules and nothing else matters.Anyway, I was looking for some kid of conspiracy, something conclusive, but the director left something else and I have to deal with that.So, I have a question; do you think he is intending to commit suicide, or let the chips fall as they will as he can't pay the kidnappers since he relinquished all control of his funds and has nothing (am I right about this?).I think, in a more normal film, he would commit suicide, as dealing with the public with anything that will happen will be a disaster. I do think that is what he is going to do, as that is the only way he could be remembered as honourable. Or he could be thinking of a plan to return to the head of the company by blaming the board for what they did, but I do not think that would work. What do you all think?