Movie Critic This movie starts out as what seems to be some sort of dull yuppie relationship garbage (I wonder if the bad character Kremer was a play on Kramer vs. Kramer??) Then it suddenly becomes a great thriller as Paul Exben ex-financial attorney eschews the Kramer vs. Kramer garbage and takes off as a fugitive with identity theft. He becomes a sought after talented photographer---unlike the bad one his wife took off with.There are a lot of subtle things..He begins to look at his kid and he resembles his infidel unhappy wife's lover.No, this movie is fantastic on so many levels. The photography of the Croatian coast all of it.Happily he is not caught by the police but it ends as he starts a new life of some sort in Italy.I like movies that switch gears suddenly rather than some plodding predictable formula. This movie moves fast has memorable believable characters (the 62 boozy French journalist and Ivana are great characters) all around good. Boy this director knows how to type cast! And direct creating very convincing characters.Highly Recommend

dromasca At the beginning of the story in this film the hero seems to be at the peak of his life. He has it all - a comfortable life, a wife and two kids, he lives in a villa in the province and works in Paris as a successful lawyer on the brink of becoming lead of a lawyer office (inherited from a terminally sick woman played by Catherine Deneuve who has only three short scenes, but so great to see her still beautiful and in good acting form). At the end he has nothing, is a fugitive with no identity. And yet, the story is the one of fulfillment as the hero while losing his status and family will find himself, a new profession and passion.It's a very well written story and script (based on a novel by Douglas Kennedy). It also is a more than satisfying crime story (albeit it's about an accidental murder) which as some point in time plays with the theme of the first book in the Bounty Identity series, with the murderer taking over the identity of the victim, and finding refuge in the least policed place in Europe (at least according to the script). It so happens that the victim was a photographer, and while trying to mimic his way of life the hero develops a passion and discovers a talent in the profession, actually a stronger talent than of the one of the true owner of the name. Succeeding means however acquiring fame, and this puts under risk his second identity. I will stop here in order to not disclose too much of the rest of the story, but I will just say that the mixture of crime story, stolen identity, and self-discovery works quite well in 'L'homme qui voulait vivre sa vie' (the English title is 'The Big Picture').Much of the film rests on the shoulders of Romain Duris and he is doing a fine job. I do not know too much about director Eric Lartigau, but he is telling the story and leading his team with a good professional hand. 'L'homme qui voulait vivre sa vie' is a god thriller and a compelling drama about a man who breaks twice the frames of his life, finding himself when he seems to have lost everything.

Framescourer Eric Lartigau's thriller is a cunning film. The tension remains right up to the end, although it's also rather disappointing that it has gone nowhere. Romain Duris' Paul has either got some sort of deep-hidden secret (popped into relief by the suggestion that he had an exciting creative career ahead of him that he abandoned) that is to be revealed or we are to discover some moral to his pursuit of 'the life he wants to live' (to borrow the French title).Instead the film is actually in each of the episodes along the way that Lartigau concocts; how Paul builds something from a situation that seems simple and moves on from it when it becomes complicated. It's fluid, liberating but strangely unedifying. I liked the editing and the location shooting of both Paris and South East Europe. Niels Arestrup puts in a small turn later on which is as good as anything else in the film, including Catherine Deneuve's professional appearance. Slick but slippery 5/10

greenray1 I really have to write a review about this great French thriller. Firstly, although not a French Language expert, the original title which means roughly - THE MAN WHO WANTED TO CHANGE HIS LIFE - is much more appropriate than THE BIG PICTURE. Although the circumstances that lead the main character to change his life for something that he should have done years ago were quite shocking, it resonated with me and I am sure so many others. How many of us have not pursued what we were really good at and traded ourselves in to the banal life of the office, security of the pension and benefits etc. etc. The list goes on. If you can watch this film twice then do as you will appreciate it even more. The acting is very good. The ending may confuse some and I have not ticked the spoiler box so will not give anything away. After leaving the auditorium you will piece it together though. Overall an excellent film. The main actor was great in Heartbreaker and the same here with THE BIG PICTURE.