A Common Thread (2005) Movie Information:

A Common Thread (2005) Directed by: Alain Berberian A Common Thread (2005) Written by: Rene Petillon, Christian Clavier, Michel Delgado A Common Thread (2005) Cast: Christian Clavier, Jean Reno

A Common Thread (2005) U.S. Distributor: New Yorker Films A Common Thread (2005) U.K. Distributor: Soda Pictures

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A Common Thread (2005) Synopsis:

Mild-mannered private detective Jack Palmer heads from Paris to Corsica to let a certain Ange Leoni know he's inherited an estate. Never knowing whether he'll step unwittingly into an ancient grudge, be kidnapped by armed ski mask-wearing tough guys, used as a pawn by bumbling nationalists or railroaded by legal authorities, Palmer is ready to call it quits when extremely attractive Lea offers him a rather compelling distraction.

A Common Thread (2005) Movie Review:

French filmmaker Faucher gives this gentle drama an engaging and thoughtful tone that may feel slow and dull to some viewers. But those who stick with it will be rewarded with a lovely story about people picking up the pieces of their shattered lives.

Claire (Naymark) is a teenager who has left her family to make a life on her own--working at a local supermarket. When she discovers she's pregnant, she decides to put the baby up for adoption, quietly leaving her very public job and beginning an apprenticeship with an Armenian embroiderer (Ascaride) whose son has just died in a motorcycle accident. These two women--one before motherhood, the other after it--are both facing difficult futures, but together they might have a chance to get through.

Naymark and Ascaride play these characters so vividly that we're completely gripped from the moment we meet them. Naymark's flaming red curls seem almost like an expression of her internal rage; her cheeky sense of humour balances her stubborn rebellion. And she makes Claire subtly receptive to life around her, with a willingness to both face life as it comes and take charge of her destiny. It's a clever character that's both complicated and simple at the same time. Meanwhile, Ascaride's Madame Melikian is darkly shadowed with a tiny gleam in her eye that even severe tragedy can't quite extinguish. Together these women are wonderful, conveying everything with minimal dialog and actions.

Faucher directs the whole film this way, with quietly expressive cinematography that never shifts up a gear as it cleverly catches the minutiae of life and interaction. The film moves slowly, revealingly, with the beautifully honest rhythm of the two women. This calm pace also allows fascinating, wounded people around them the space to develop, which gives the film a rich, meaningful depth and draws us in even further. Despite the unhurried pace, the film is full of sharp wit, red herrings and compelling mysteries. But it's in the detailed observation of two desperate people checking each other for trustworthiness that the film strikes gold.

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A Common Thread (2005) review written by: Rich Cline