Point Blank

French director Fred Cavayé's Point Blank is neither a remake of the same-named 1967 John Boorman classic nor the 1998 straight-to-video Mickey Rourke vehicle, but rather an original (if not entirely plausible) thriller. Hospital nurse Samuel (Gilles Lellouche) saves the life of a patient named Hugo Sartet (Roschdy Zem) after the latter's oxygen supply is intentionally cut. Arriving home later, Samuel is attacked by invaders who beat him unconscious and kidnap his nine-months-pregnant wife, Nadia (Elena Anaya). When he regains consciousness, Samuel receives a phone call from a criminal organization that threatens to murder Nadia unless he goes back to the hospital and springs Sartet—a dangerous gangster. Samuel and the miscreant Sartet ultimately wind up dodging the police and rival gangs in a seemingly nonstop chase. Although the concept is borderline ridiculous (Samuel's reticence about going straight to the police is explained by having a constabulary who is more vicious than the thugs), Lellouche is a charismatic everyman-turned-superhero, and Cavayé manages to keep the action full-throttle while adopting an entertainingly wicked visual style. Recommended. (P. Hall)