L'homme qui voulait vivre sa vie

Eric Lartigau's film, 'The Big Picture', begins as a thriller, but ends more as an existential meditation on life (the literal translation of its French title, 'The Man Who Wanted to Live his Life', is much more apt than its dull replacement). A man ends up living, first in the shoes of another man, and ultimately as an anonymous nobody: he initial decision to give up his identity is a choice, albeit in straightened circumstances, but its consequences have to be experienced to be understood. The initial portion of the film has the feel of a thriller and does not seem especially well-acted; the latter half is more interesting, but overall, an abbreviated feel permeates the movie. Whereas Antonioni's 'The Passenger', which I also saw recently and which follows a similar course, is all about mood (only hinting at plot), here the balance is different, and the more interesting, introspective aspects are occasionally rushed. There's a lot of interest here, and some ambition on the part of the director; but some of its ideas could, I think, have been allowed a bit more space to breathe.