Rapt

This French thriller from Lucas Belvaux stars Yvan Attal as Stanislas Graff, a famous corporate bigwig whose previously secret private life of adultery, gambling addiction (with millions in IOUs), and jet-setting excess is revealed after he's kidnapped and ransomed for more than, it turns out, he's worth (at least in practical terms). What's most interesting about Rapt is the upending of expectations; the film is in some ways less a thriller than an intimate and detailed portrait of the ordeals suffered by Graff as he's terrorized, threatened, kept in isolation, and moved from one hiding place to another while terms are negotiated and money drops are disrupted by police surveillance. But Rapt also follows Graff's wife, Françoise (Anne Consigny), and family, who try to keep up a supportive public face amidst personal revelations that humiliate them every day in the press and on TV, fueling a tabloid culture that feeds ravenously on damning details. Ultimately serving up a defiantly impassive portrait of privilege and entitlement unbowed in the face of public disgrace, Rapt is a far cry from the classic tale of arrogance humbled during a journey of contrition…and is all the more interesting for it. Recommended. (S. Axmaker)