Faites comme si je n'étais pas là

Jeremie Renier, a handsome, intelligent young Belgian actor (see him also in "La Promesse")portrays a troubled teenager who reveals his hostility, confusion and needs as he relates (and hides from) family members and strangers in his apartment complex. Despite Eric's anti-social behavior, he is an intriguing character to the other characters in the film, most of whom try to help him. Curiously, although he is a loner, he desperately wants to find out all he can about others. His character seems to be built on contradiction. He tries to hurt just about everyone around him, yet there is something about him, perhaps his neediness, that is very appealing. He seems to be both self-destructive and at the same time trying to find himself, and it is that effort at self-discovery that allows us as viewers to like him and to identify with him despite the nastiness and cruelty that he exhibits. I found the film to be one of the best that I have seen in a long time.