Rent Scribe (2016)

Befuddling plot, solid cast - Scribe review by JH

A film with an intriguing first half hour and set-up, a 70s-style spy thriller with mysterious shadow figures, typewriters and cassette recordings, that loses its way as it dives down into an incomprehensible labyrinthine political head-scratcher.

The muted, stripped down palette and sets and the very intentional non-digital central setup of an accountant transcribing cassette taps does remind of past films like The Conversation.

As it moves on however the initial setup does largely seem like a gimmick to have a base to move off from.

The main reason to keep watching for me is the always-engaging Cluzet.

Often called upon to play the 'everyman' in his films (e.g. Tell No One), here he plays Duval very downtrodden — unhappy with his working life, attending AA meetings and living a seemingly very solitary, structured life.

And yet when he's embroiled into criminality, he's always believable. He struggles, a fish out of water, usually to be beaten back and really gave me my only reason to keep watching: I wanted to see what would happen to Duval.

A pity given the main parlour games between shadow operatives seeking for 'the notebooks' had lost my interest well before the 87mins were done but there's also nothing especially off-putting going on either.

Underpowered thriller - Scribe review by Alphaville

French thriller in which mild-mannered accountant Francois Cluzet, France’s answer to Dustin Hoffman, takes a job with a shady organisation and finds himself involved in skulduggery. The set-up is intriguing and Cluzet is as sympathetic a lead as ever, but pacing and direction are too staid for a thriller. The plot does build as his predicament worsens, but the film is too Kafkaesque for its own good and never hits any heights.

Disappointing - Scribe review by CP Customer

Initially intriguing and sinister, this movie echoes elements of The Lives of Others and even, Fincher's The Game.

Unfortunately the movie dips in quality during the second half as the lead character's general meekness and his counter intuitive decisions make it difficult for the viewer to root for him.

A muddled third act and a poorly drawn main character makes this an unsatisfying experience