Pour Elle

TOUT POUR ELLE (Anything for Her) was the original story and film from which THE NEXT THREE DAYS was adapted. In many ways this film is at least as strong as the Paul Haggis version with Russell Crowe. Here the credits are due to the imagination of writers Fred Cavayé and Guillaume Lemans and directed by Fred Cavayé. It is a very fine character driven thriller that while it may appear incredible to most, it is nonetheless an involving story of a man's love and commitment to his wife.

Julien (an impressive Vincent Lindon) is a schoolteacher who has a happy home life with his beautiful wife Lisa (Diane Kruger) and son Oscar (Lancelot Roch). During a quiet evening at home they are disturbed by policemen who arrest Lisa for a murder she claims she did not commit. Jump three years and Julien has been working with lawyers, spending their paltry savings, on getting appeals to get Lisa released from jail. He gets moral support from his parents (Liliane Rovère and Olivier Perrier) but sees his family falling apart. After three years have passed and when all legal portals fail, Lisa attempts suicide and Julien decides the only way to get Lisa out of prison is to aid in her escape. He visits writer Henri Pasquet (Olivier Marchal) who has escaped from prison several times and outlines the dangers AND the only secure methods for affecting a prison escape. John slowly and methodically prepares for the escape, gaining money by contacting drug lord Mouss (Alaa Safi), commits some crimes of his own as he masterminds his plan to successfully extract Lisa from prison. There are many twists and turns to the story, well written subplots and unexpected coincidences, all populated with a very strong cast of capable actors. It is a tense little French film that may not have the better known cast of its later American successor, but it works on a very different level and is a solid psychological thriller. Grady Harp, March 11

The 2008 French "Pour Elle" (alternate title "Anything for Her") is, as you know, the basis of the 2010 American remake, Paul Haggis-directed "The Next Three Days" starring Russell Crowe and Elizabeth Banks.

The taut thriller's story begins like this. When his beloved wife Lisa (Diane Kruger) is arrested for murder, is sentences for 20 years in prison, and is not likely to survive the life there, an ordinary teacher Julian (Vincent Lindon) decides to do anything he can do for her, even though it means stepping outside of legal and perhaps moral boundaries.

This is all you have to know. The murder case itself (shown in flashbacks) is not the center of our concern here. What fascinates us is the determination of an average person who has only limited resources, financially or otherwise. Except for a former criminal-turned-writer Henri Pasquet (Olivier Marchal), Julian's only ally is the strength of his own will.

Vincent Lindon as Julian almost single-handedly carries the film as a decent Mr. Everyman driven to extreme measures. Given less screen time but equally impressive is Diane Kruger, better known for her turns in "National Treasures." "Pour Elle" is not exactly about the intricate plans. It is more about what these believable characters, especially Julian, have to undergo in order to get what he wants.

This is the first feature film for Fred Cavayé, who keeps the story well-paced and well-balanced between gripping suspense and character-driven drama.

Love's constant flame seems to be at the heart of the excellent French romantic-thriller "Pour Elle" (2008, aka "Anything For Her"), starring Diane Kruger (as the wife Lisa) and Vincent Lindon (as the husband Julien); co-written/directed by Fred Cavayé; story by Guillaume Lemans; edited by Benjamin Weill. The premise: Lisa is arrested and whisked away to jail for a crime she did not commit (in her home in front of her husband and son); in short order she is found guilty and given a prison sentence. Similar to the Robert Cummings' classics of the 1940's where the theme was about `an innocent man wrongly convicted - who must now flee for his life or end up in prison'; Cummings perfected the role in "Saboteur" (1942) and other similar-plot films during his long career. His shadow seems to be ever present in the tightly-woven plot of this very movie.

In "Pour Elle", we witness Lisa's agony (which propels Julien into extreme `heroic' action); consequently, it triggers our empathy with her unjust imprisonment. Dramatic tension is ignited like a flame from hell within her helpless cries to her husband. We identify with Lisa and Julien on many complex levels: because they are noble and true to their marriage vows. His absolute devotion to her bespeaks of his own truth, humility, and extreme loyalty; he will rescue her or die trying. He `the husband-garde du corps' will climb into the abyss for her. That is high romance within a tragic plotline. That is noblesse oblige at work, even in a topsy-turvy morality play like this one where unjust events dictate uncivil conduct.

When we approach an impassioned, desperate `highly emotional' storyline, we are eventually called upon - to accept the breaches of civil and legal conduct (that must be made by our noble protagonist to complete his mission), to overlook the felonies and crimes commited by our hero - within the context of a husband's supreme duty to rescue and protect his wife - to the best of his ability. Truly Julien does exactly that. His love remains constant even when he is beaten to a pulp by thugs. In addition, her sacrifice as an innocent woman draws us into his plight to free her legally first and then free her illegally second. It is a choice that Julien is forced to make. His extreme devotion to Lisa draws us into the flame of passion - where he will remove all barriers to get her out of prison and to an unknown sanctuary.

Long into the night we can wonder aloud about the pure devotion of Julien for his wife Lisa.

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