Ooh, this is an interesting one about the transformational power of art, in particular, music. A man, Tom, played perfectly by the dreamy Romain Duris, is a bit of a creep. He gets in bar fights and uses women. He’s in real estate, but not what one typically thinks. His is the shady underbelly of the business in Paris, where he and his colleagues have no qualms about making deals in the night or using unorthodox means to entice people to leave their homes. He’s his father’s son.
In stark contrast, his deceased mother was a rather accomplished classical pianist, and one night he, rather serendipitously, meets her former agent, where he, surprisingly, remembers Tom and his talent as a young man and suggests an audition. Tom need only pick the date.
What ensues is Tom’s progression from thug to real man. He begins to distance himself from that which is most destructive, making choices more akin to a man of integrity, with some missteps, too. He’s not perfect.
Now to what I love most about this movie – Tom’s deep connection to music of all kinds. He’s always listening, but it is more than that – it’s a visceral and emotional experience. He puts everything he has into the listening and the playing. In many ways, after that fortuitous meeting with his mother’s former agent, it becomes his compass, leading him to a better life.
