Racer and the Jailbird, 2017.
Directed by Michaël R. Roskam.
Starring Matthias Schoenaerts, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Eric De Staercke, Jean-Benoît Ugeux, and Nathalie Van Tongelen.
SYNOPSIS:
When career criminal Gigi (Matthias Schoenaerts) meets a beautiful young race driver named Bibi (Adèle Exarchopoulos), the two of them begin a passionate affair that brings the worlds of high society and the gangster underworld together with potentially tragic consequences.
On the outside, Racer and the Jailbird has the glossy veneer of a high end perfume ad; fast cars, stylishly lensed, and sexy leads. Unfortunately it also has about the same level of depth as those haute couture snippets.
A tale of star crossed, make that car crossed lovers, who share zero chemistry beyond a recurring joke about flowers, and intermittent sex scenes that lack any of the sparks which are kicked up by Bibi’s automobile.
Ultimately, despite two extremely seductive performances from Schoenaerts and Exarchopoulos, Racer and the Jailbird fails because the entire movie hinges on the strength of their romance. It’s the catalyst for the entire film, it’s what you’re meant to hang your emotional investment on, but unfortunately it’s insufferably dull.
Had more been spent, during what feels like an excessive runtime, on establishing why they’re so infatuated with eachother, beyond being really really ridiculously good looking, it might have added weight to proceedings. They’re willing to sacrifice their way of life for one another, and we as an audience are meant to care because what, they look at each other longingly? Considering the unwelcome shift in gear towards TV-movie-of-the-week melodrama during the final act, their lightweight personalties completely undermine the movie’s intentions.
Such overriding negativity is partially down to expecting more from the talent involved. Rust & Bone proved that Schoenaerts can do sensitive criminal brute, but his Gigi is all surface level one-last-job cliche. Exarchopoulos threatens intrigue, introduced as a confident woman in this man’s world of screeching tyres and engines, but she soon takes the passenger seat as a gangster’s moll paint-by-numbers.
So with no investment in this Belgian Bonnie and Clyde, the rest of the movie feels indulgent and overwrought, only shaking you from the car advert mundanity of it all with a decent highway robbery sequence, and some impressive dashboard POV shots.
In conclusion, Racer and the Jailbird promises a high-octane love-story, but delivers a film that’s akin to a two hour drive in a restricted speed zone.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Matt Rodgers – Follow me on Twitter @mainstreammatt
