Close Enemies

It has been a while since I've seen a good crime drama movie. Close Enemies (2018) would be in the list, although, not high in it.

Manuel Marco is trying to solve the mystery of who rat him and his partners out in a drug sale, leading to the death of his best friend Imrane. Things end up even eerier when an old friend shows up to give a helping hand.

The investigation element is kinda missing here. We don't see some detective work taking place to get facts straight. Driss, as he mentioned himself, knows everything about the drug world and is very informative. In fact, too informative.

Even though Manuel is trying to collect facts, it appears that Driss is always one step ahead, telling Manuel, and us, what is going on or what is the lead. Most information comes from facts that do not happen in-camera. They are just reported by someone.

I guess Rémi was not used correctly. His character had a lot of potential in the story but they couldn't fit him in with a better purpose.

The plot is OK. Nothing really major happens and, in the end, there is nothing you would not expect. The ending is very powerful, I will give it that.

I would say Close Enemies (2018) is definitely recommendable. I can't say amusable to everyone.

An interesting story, extremely well filmed, subtly showing the relationships and motivations of friends and family of some drug dealers in Paris. Surprisingly, many of the characters are likeable, despite their profession and behaviour, and the director keeps the pace moving by never allowing the viewer to choose sides. The story takes place within a 48-hour time period, lending a more frantic air to an already difficult situation. Great camera work and a lack of background music give the actors room to shine. Several scenes in the film allude to the situation at hand, characters speak as if the other person knows what they are talking about, just as in real life. Because, at times, the viewer is not clear, information has to be held on to, and meaning and impact become clear later. This is especially true of the ending. While there is plenty of action, and unpleasantly realistic at times, the film's strength is the pacing and subtle reveals.

A great piece of independent film making. Matthias Schoenaerts delivers a powerful performance. Highly underrated.

First time ever rating a film. I saw the current rating of 6 and I found it totally unfair. This deserves way more attention. Netflix please stop filling the top 10 films with ridiculous titles and make us discover gems like these!

Tightly woven gangland thriller. The pacing was upbeat. For a crime based gangster piece it also has soul. Really appreciate the angle this was aiming for even if it does miss the mark in some areas.