Anthony Zimmer (2005) User Reviews

I liked it

[Felix-28 · 7/10 · 18 April 2006]

There are some movies you watch to learn something, and some you watch to be entertained, and some you watch for both purposes.

This is a pure entertainment movie, and I liked it a lot. The most important things in a movie like this are to have a plot that twists and turns but remains at least semi-plausible, to have a reasonably attractive hero, a super-sexy femme fatale and appropriately menacing villains, and above all to keep up the pace no matter what. Anthony Zimmer does all of these things rather well. Throw in the bonus of lots of the high life -- the mountain-top super-house, the suite at the Carlton in Nice and all the rest -- and the extra bonus of a happy ending (I don't think that's a spoiler) and you make a very enjoyable evening out.

Don't bother trying to work out later how all the bits fitted together. Some of them don't fit all that well, but then they never do in films like this, and it's not the point. They fit together well enough while you're watching it.

I saw this at the annual festival of French films put on by the Alliance Française in Melbourne, Australia. It opened the Festival, and later was shown again at a multiplex. The later showing was originally supposed to be in one 250-seat cinema, but demand was so great that it eventually was shown in three 250-seaters simultaneously, all of which were completely full. We all went home happy.

not that bad, but the ending is unconvincing

[alexis-debontoulouse · 7/10 · 27 April 2005]

Not bad after all, but the ending has a problem with suspension of disbelief. Like in every other mystery identity movie, once you know you the bad guy really is, you tend to rewind the whole film in your memory and see if the whole thing is coherent. Which here is not the case. Even when the main character is alone (and therefore doesn't have to "act" in front of other characters who don't know who he really is) he seems to react like it were the first time he is in fancy hotel, etc. So, in a way, it's not the lead character who is lying to the other characters, but the filmmakers who are lying to us viewers. It's a great joy when it's done playfully by someone like Brian De Palma (in Dressed To Kill and Body Double), but this trick is irrelevant here !

The final twist notwithstanding, the filmmakers are talented enough to create tension without resorting to many action set-pieces.

And, everything being said and done, it's always a treat to watch Sophie Marceau act, though she somehow manages mostly to get involved in projects that don't match her talent.

Remake of Cypher (spoilers)

[info-5918 · 6/10 · 11 January 2014]

Pretty much a remake of "Cypher", Canadian movie made three years before this(2002). Both revolve around a geeky main character, out of their depth in a dangerous world, rescued and in love with a cool good looking action capable femme fatal (Sophie Marceu/Lucy Liu)..who has the answers....and is also in love with them.

In the end, despite both of them being geeky *very* everyman characters, their geek personas are in fact a disguise, they are actually the so far unseen central anti hero character (Anthony Zimmer/Sebastian Brooks) of the movie, a very secretive and highly capable independent agent, who's face has never been seem (except by the female central character).

In both films, two bad guy organisations (Russian Mafi and French Police/Sunway Corp Digicorp) are chasing after him, however don't know what he looks like.

In the end, the bad guy organisations are outsmarted, and the Zimmer/Brooks character escapes with the girl...the only people to witness his face are killed. Both movies even finish off with the respective couples traveling off into the sunset together.

Anthony Zimmer is stylish in a typical French way, but Cypher itself is quite stylish and the original and the cleverer of the two. Jeremy Northam's acting is probably more solid, and Cypher is more sophisticated and harder to predict. If you have seen this French Version of Cypher, its worth seeing Cypher as a comparison.

A double take suspense - superb production.

[drarthurwells · 4 August 2011]

Anthony Zimmer has disappeared with his ill-gotten riches, to change his looks and his voice with plastic surgery to escape the French customs police and a Russian mafia gang. A vacationer is selected on a train by Zimmer's girl friend, as having Zimmer's age and body build, and set up to appear to be Anthony Zimmer in order to fool Zimmer's pursuers. It works well, and the chase is on. One nuance of note: the customs police chief becomes fully aware at the end of what the viewer finds out.

A great film in all ways - superb acting, pacing, plot, scenery, and background music - all integrated in a very involving film. See this first, then see the remake (The Tourist) with Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie to realize the faults of the remake. The Tourist is not all that bad, perhaps even above average, but Anthony Zimmer is much better.

Thriller Francais

[stensson · 7/10 · 17 August 2006]

This is a story which we've seen many times in American movies. About the common gentle guy who without wanting so, gets involved in heavy things. And it could happen to all of us.

The plot is rather clever, but you have some unanswered questions in the end. Sophie Marceaux plays the mystic lady and you never know whether she really is good or bad. Not even when the movie is over.

What is a quite intelligent psychological drama, turns into a violent outburst. Anyway it's nice to watch such a plot in another environment; here the French Côte d'Azur. But it's too physical in the end and maybe the plot maker hasn't had any real good ideas about how to finish it.

A fair attempt at a French thriller

[missahug · 6/10 · 7 May 2005]

This film has a Hollywoodesque quality that screams "Us Frenchies can make thrillers too!". I'm not saying that it's a bad flick: the actors are a pleasure to watch, particularly the absolutely stunning Sophie Marceau (and this is coming from a straight girl). However, the ending didn't come as a surprise: I never rewound the film in my head thinking "I should have seen it coming!", because I did see it coming. It's not that there are any hidden clues (and, as another viewer commented, if you think back, the protagonist's attitude seems rather incoherent), it's just that the least probable suspect is our guy. And the least probable guy is always the one. Which leads me to my final point: from the soundtrack to the unconvincing conclusion the same name comes to mind: Kaiser Sose. Yes, Anthony Zimmer tries very hard to be The Usual Suspects, without the craftiness (but with a foxy lady).

Entertaining

[satyau2000 · 7/10 · 10 May 2006]

I decided to watch the movie entirely for Sophie Marceau but Yvan Attal was surprisingly good. There are some scenes in the movie which demand praise and some which are unconvincing. The scene which forms the crux of the movie ought to have been done with more finesse that is Anthony Zimmer being revealed. I have always thought that foreign language movies which are screened in other countries are award winning serious movies and honestly ANTHONY ZIMMER changed that for me although I admit I have'not watched too many foreign language movies. Two scenes which are standout are the TGV train sequence and the climax when the police are waiting for ZIMMERs arrival. Sophie Marceau looks as beautiful as ever in the movie. Watch this movie for good story telling and a very believable setting.

Classy. A seven-and-a-half and close to eight out of ten.

[jamesjchapman-37903 · 7/10 · 12 January 2021]

Classy and smooth. Like a French wine. The ending deserved maybe some more of the climatic suspense that built in places throughout the film. That was the only disappointment.

For a movie just shy of 90 minutes, it has to remain thin on the plot. At best you are given sketchy details about the key characters - or none at all. And remarkably the producers manage to throw quite a lot into this little mini masterpiece that keeps you watching all the way until the anti-climatic end.

Mystery surrounds all involved; from the main protagonist being hunted by law enforcement and Russian mafia alike, to the love interest, the cop, the hitman and even the "hero."

It's a whirlwind chase that treats us with what we hope will be a whirlwind romance at the end of dramatic chase scenes and perhaps a finale and showdown between the hunted and his pursuers. You are given a surprise ending, just maybe not what you'd expected or hoped for.

Anthony Zimmer is definitely a clever film and deserving of awards. For such a short movie, they really manage to build up our sympathies for key characters and also build hope of a future together for two people needing a fresh break. It's a film that teases you all the way. Teases your sense of intrigue through the opening sequences and then takes you on the chase for the mystery man.

You can't be sure who Anthony Zimmer is or where he'll jump out at you. And at times you can't even be sure he is actually a he at all. I can't throw in a spoiler; so I'll just tease you the way the movie does. Does "he" even exist? Hmmm.

Sit back and enjoy the chase. Pretty certain you'll be glad you did.

Things Are not How They Seem to Be

[claudio_carvalho · 8/10 · 21 January 2007]

In Paris, the international police force and the Russian mafia are chasing Anthony Zimmer, an intelligent man responsible for laundry of dirty money in France. Zimmer was submitted to a plastic surgery, and his new face and voice are completely unknown. The only means to reach Zimmer is through his beloved mistress Chiara (Sophie Marceau), who is under surveillance of the police and the mobsters. While traveling by train to the country nearby Nice, the common man François Taillandier (Yvan Attal), who has the same body shape of Zimmer, is select by Chiara as if he were Zimmer and used as a bait to lure those that are pursuing her. When Taillandier is chased by the professional Russian killers, he runs the French police when the real situation begins to be disclosed to him.

"Anthony Zimmer" is a great thriller, with a situation that recalls Hitchcock's classic "North By Northwest", i.e., a man mistaken for another and pursued by criminals. The attractive story has many twists, a nice cast with the gorgeous Sophie Marceau and the efficient Yvan Attal in the lead roles. The beautiful locations in France is an amazing tour in this wonderful country. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Anthony Zimmer A Caçada" ("Anthony Zimmer The Hunting")

ZIMMER FRAME STUMBLE

[MadamWarden · 4/10 · 21 March 2022]

Seriously pretentious attempt at a mystery thriller except the plot is ridiculous and inconsistent.

The "mark" who supposedly really is the master criminal is ridiculous as he clearly is not during the course of the movie. A really silly about at a supposedly "clever" plot twist. Infantile!!

Is he only a pawn in her game...

[richard_sleboe · 8/10 · 12 March 2008]

...or she in his? Captivating, elegant little thriller. It's not spectacular in any obvious way, yet I couldn't take my eyes off the screen for just one second. It starts out almost exactly like "Mr Bean's Holiday": a guy on a southbound express train, headed for the coast, hoping for recreation. Which he won't find. That's where the the script leaves the common ground. It's rich in twists and turns, clever to the point of cunning. Production design and cinematography are among the most elegant you will find. Cool, minimalistic interior sets contrast with the time-tested cinematic sparkle of the Côte D'Azur. Similarly, wide-angle shots are inter-cut with extreme close-ups, e.g., of pills dancing on a shaking spiral staircase, the pulsing red halo of the caller light on a ringing telephone, or a pair of shades dropped casually into an earthenware bowl. Scenes you have seen a thousand times, this movie makes you see them with new eyes: a guy killing time watching TV, a car chase in an underground parking lot, or someone having coffee and reading the paper in the morning sun. Admittedly, Sophie Marceau helped to keep me interested. She plays a woman six years her junior, and she more than gets away with it. She is in the shape of her life. I think she may have had something done to her face, but it looks good and doesn't show. I can see why President Mitterand took her on his trips abroad as an icon of French allure. The five-second scene in which she wires herself for the showdown alone made it worth my while. The final plot twist may not be up to common standards of plausibility, but it doesn't subtract from 90 minutes spent in silent wonder at what the French can do with a little sunshine and lot of mascara.

far from Hitchcock

[dromasca · 5/10 · 18 February 2008]

Director Jerome Salle wanted this film to remind us Hitchcock's or Polanski's movies with the next door guy type getting caught into a web of mistaken identity. He actually tries more with a story which may have had a better chance if it decided whether it wants to play on the thriller or on the romantic movie line. Unfortunately he seems to try to do both and fails on both, because we are never sure what the director wants for us, and because the point of gravity where he takes us changes too sudden. We are left with a well acted film with Sophie Marceau and Yvan Attal leading a good team of actors, but also with a feeling of in-satisfaction because despite the good ideas the film ends by looking too short and too superficial to give us time to be thrilled or to be moved.

When you're running for your life, who can you trust?

[RJBurke1942 · 8/10 · 7 June 2008]

This is an engaging and quite clever thriller, produced, directed and acted as only the French do: stylish, cool, suave – and with a twist. Or, was it a double twist? Here's the setup: a wanted criminal, Anthony Zimmer, is being hunted by the French police who want Zimmer in jail; and by the Russian mafia who just want him dead. Zimmer, however, has recently acquired a new face via plastic surgery; so nobody knows what he looks like now.

He has a weakness, however: the femme fatale who, in this case, is Chiara (Sophie Marceau), who keeps in touch with Zimmer via classified messages in the Herald-Tribune. As his girl friend, she's instructed by letter, from Zimmer, to board a train and pick the man who most closely resembles Zimmer's size and shape – and then play up to him as though he was in fact Anthony Zimmer. Why? Because Zimmer wants an available sap to act as stand-in when the mafia make their hit...

Enter poor Francois Taillandier (Yvan Attal), minding his own business on the train when the gorgeous Chiara sets down opposite and, very adroitly, gets Francois to join her in her travels to the Cote d'Azur and a luxurious holiday… he thinks. Francois figures he's maybe in heaven for the first day, a wonderful dinner, followed by the potential for real romance.

And then, the sky falls in...

In short order, Francois is running for his life (almost like Dustin Hoffman in Marathon Man [1976] and for similar reasons) as the mafia try twice to kill him, Chiara reveals that she set him up, the mafia keep on trying to make a hit on him, the police try to help him, and Zimmer's still pulling the strings it seems. Things are closing in on Francois, and it seems like only a matter of time before he takes a hit.

Not everything is as it seems, however...

To say more would spoil this film for you. Suffice to say that, like Hitchcock and others before, the denouement between the police, the mafia and the elusive Zimmer is very satisfying, if somewhat contrived, perhaps.

The ending, however, does raise some interesting questions and provides no firm answers, an aspect I particularly like – because that allows me to formulate the complete end according to my own inclination. Besides, whenever you read about murder and mayhem in real life, you never get the full story anyway. Right?

The cinematography is exquisite on the French coastline, the sound track is good, the acting is...oh, who cares...I was too busy looking at Sophie Marceau anyway. Okay – the acting was adequate, but not spectacular.

See this one. You won't regret the ninety minutes.

Enchanting Sophie Marceau

[harry_tk_yung · 16 December 2005]

A guy-next-door type translator (NOT "interpreter", mind you) (Yvan Attal) recently "ditched" (I took this from the sub-title in the version I saw) is on a train going to a seaside resort to enjoy a quiet vacation by himself when an enchanting woman (Sophie Marceau) sits opposite him and asks him to help her with the stuck zippers on her cardigan. Examples of stories starting with an encounter on the train can be easily found, for various genre: Strangers on a train (1951), Notre histoire (1984), Before sunrise (1995), just to name a few. Anthony Zimmer involves a crime mystery and a romance.

The silly plot (and the even sillier plot twist) is there merely to provide a platform for Marceau and Attal to act, and does not worth talking about. Marceau can play the role of the beautiful enigmatic women without even trying and Attal delivers the persona of an all-too- familiar absolutely ordinary guy caught in a whirlwind of unsought excitement to perfection. But then, both handle the deeper second layer extremely well too. The well attended to mise en scene provides good support, and the effective script carries the movie in a delightfully crisp pace through its relatively short 90 minutes. Very pleasant to watch, but somewhat forgettable, maybe with the exception of the lovely image of Marceau.

Weak copy of "Cypher"

[MediSin · 5/10 · 26 January 2006]

Anthony Zimmer is an average suspension movie, but if you have seen Cypher (http://imdb.com/title/tt0284978), you know how the movie is going to unwind from the first five minutes on. The story is very similar (not to say, in some parts identical), although in Cypher, the main character actually "deleted" his memory, so the entire "Who's the guy?" game actually makes sense.

As has been mentioned elsewhere, even when alone, Zimmer doesn't act like himself, and it doesn't really make sense why, unless to lead on the viewer. The movie has a lot of potential, but doesn't go far beyond the average, which is a pity. Sophie Marceau pulls off her part nicely (you don't really see her 40 years, do you?), and tragically outshines everybody else. The characters remain flat and two-dimensional (even the main character...), and the final twist just doesn't come off right (especially since most viewers will have the identity shuffle figured out by now).

If you haven't seen Cypher, maybe this movie works for you. If you have seen it, this really isn't a lot of fun, as it gets boring pretty quickly. It gets an average rating for the nice camera work and Sophie Marceau, but I'm sad to say it would probably have scored higher if the producers had directly copied Cypher.

Thriller à la Hitchcock

[rowiko · 10/10 · 27 November 2010]

Not very often have I watched a thriller that entertained me as much as this one, throughout its whole duration. I don't think this film made a big splash at the box office or earned much critical acclaim, which is a shame.

In my view, its fascinating scenery, the many twists and turns, a fabulous Sophie Marceau, and not least a clever ending, make this pure entertainment to watch and would have deserved better.

The film does remind me of Hitchcock at his best.

Not all the pieces may fit together all the time, but I don't find this to be an issue with this movie. When the final credits rolled, I was still in a kind of trance smiling to myself about the clever storyline and its convincing presentation.

In here somewhere is a strong movie hidden in an espionage and crime cliché...

[secondtake · 5/10 · 11 October 2011]

Anthony Zimmer (2005)

Ah, this has its moments, but it sure is overly clever and at times overly derivative. The interactions and scenario of an elite crook and some undercover and suspicious types on the boundaries of the big hunt for him are taken straight from a lot of previous movies--even from "North by Northwest," of all things, which you'll catch in the train conversation and in the general nature of the leading woman in both cases. It's all well enough done to keep you watching if this is your kind of movie, and I didn't mind traipsing along even as it seemed to bowl into a lot of old tricks.

What was worse, overall, was the dependence on a huge trick, one that you might or might not anticipate, and which comes along at the very end like a splotch of ketchup on your plate. Yeah, yeah, we were warned the escapee was a master of disguise and had had a lot of plastic surgery, but still, it's just not enough, not enough.

Everything is set in the south of France, Nice to be exact, and is pretty and fun (like a lot of other movies set there). The movie itself is French, of course, and in one nice scene a man starts to ask a question in English, and another man (one of the chief cops, we suppose) says, "I don't speak in English," or something to that effect. It seems a perfect point to make as so many movies these days are partly in English as if to make it easier on British and American (and Aussie and South African and Singaporean, yes yes) audiences. (A lot of French films in particular use a bit of English--or a lot--to do more than just sound international.)

But I find an interesting nuance mostly because the movie is otherwise a very straightforward affair. Enjoy. See it on a plane. Have alternatives in mind.

Not an exceptional movie

[darkmax · 8/10 · 12 February 2006]

I found this movie a bit slow paced in many places, sometimes unnecessary so.

However that being said, I have noticed that the major part of the plot has already been given away in the first 20 minutes of the film. If you watch and listen carefully, you will realize who Anthony Zimmer really is. I thought this is a real let down to this movie. Too predictable.

Sofie Marceau is really very sexy in the movie, much better than what Hollywood filmed her in their movies. As usual, she portrays a woman who is coldly sexy, turning to a hot object of desire in several scenes.

The plot of the movie is relatively simple, and its length is a bit too short. There were many subplot possibilities which were not explored.

If you like a evenly-paced thriller, this is probably for you.

The Tourist

[tieman64 · 26 November 2011]

"Anthony Zimmer" is a conventional romantic thriller and con movie which finds a gang of Russian criminals and law enforcement agents frantically attempting to apprehend master criminal Anthony Zimmer.

The film was directed by Jerome Salle, whose style is unimaginative and at times dull. The film was remade by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck as "The Tourist", a much better film. The only thing Salle's film has over Donnersmarck's is the presence of the always stunning Sophia Marceau. She plays Zimmer's love interest.

5/10 – Worth no viewings. See "The Tourist" instead, a critically maligned ode to Hitchcock and Stanley Donen.

Anthony Zimmer Hitchcockian

[brokm · 8/10 · 27 December 2010]

First I have to confess Alfred Hitchcock is not my favorite filmmaker - perhaps partly due to the somewhat clunky exposition he sometimes used but there are elements of Anthony Zimmer which I enjoyed and which recalled Hitchcock at his best. As so many have said before me Sophie Marceau is very,very good in Anthony Zimmer but , for me, Yvan Attal was the standout. I have liked his somewhat deadpan style since "Les Patriots" (still one of my favorite thrillers) and here, as the 'ordinary' guy supposedly caught up in things beyond his knowledge he plays a much more realistic Cary Grant type than you would usually see in a Hitchcock movie. Sure, you can tell pretty quickly he's not really who he seems to be but then how long did it take you to figure that Grant wasn't all he seemed in "North By Northwest". That's part of the fun of films like Anthony Zimmer. I've seen "Zimmer" twice and I'll be more than happy to watch it again.

So Who IS In The Frame?

[writers_reign · 8/10 · 3 September 2005]

Cryptic is as good a word as any to describe this. If red herrings are your thing then you've come to the right place. Jerome Salle takes a leaf out of Patrice Leconte's book and starts on a pair of feminine feet but unlike Sandrine Bonnaire in Leconte's movie, who wore granny shoes, these are stylish high heels. In another departure Salle keeps us waiting to see the woman in question approximately three or four times as long as Leconte, who revealed Bonnaire in less than one minute screen time. Salle teases us in several ways; showing a female hand - her back is to us - selecting and lighting a cigarette in close up, then more feet as she walks the length of a platform before finally boarding a train and walking past several empty seats to select a place opposite Yvan Attal - whom we might be forgiven for assuming is the eponymous Zimmer - and even then her eyes are hidden behind dark glasses. Friend Zimmer is by all accounts a criminal genius wanted far and wide by both sides of the law. Attal is strangely subdued this time around with little or none of the macho arrogance of his small-time crook in 'Bon Voyage' and Sophie Marceau is suitably enigmatic as well she might be given the role she's been handed. Ultimately this is one you watch for the acting rather than the plot which could conceal itself behind a spiral staircase.

Great Anthony Zimmer

[jean-max · 10/10 · 2 January 2006]

I don't find the plot "silly" twisted, and not only providing a platform for the two actors to act.

In fact, this movie goes far beyond the easy crap usually sold. I it a movie that takes you back in the intrigues that could be found in the old spy movies genre.

The two actors are doing a great job and the plot is unbelievably smart. It some how reminds me of a the previous movie "Patriots" with Yvan Attal.

In this movie, everything might be real. This movie deals with one aspect of what life is for some people in the world: an uneasy understandable manipulation of individuals by other individuals.

I'm sorry for the guy who did put the previous comment but I just feel that he should read more books, or maybe go back to school and learn to think "out of the box" before he puts unadequate comments that are to viewers, to the director and to the actors a real insult.

Stratege thinker Sun Zi said 2500 years ago : an country without spy is like a blind army. What do you think is happening now ?

a wonderful love story

[claudes40 · 10/10 · 10 June 2006]

The only interest in the movie is the relationship between Chiara and the mysterious man. Of course, you guess quite easily the truth, but if you like Chiara you will be in love with the movie. Sophie Marceau has never been as beautiful and demonstrates at last that she is a great actress. There is at least a real sadness, a real mystery in her eyes. The music does a lot for a story: of course, it is very "Hitchcockian". The movie is clearly inspired by Vertigo and by To catch a thief, an it gets some of their respective magic. The only disappointment is Samy Frey, who tries too much to look mysterious. another pleasure of the movie: its location. A wonderful home to die for, appears at the end. It must be located in Ibiza, because i don't think you can find something as wild on the Cote d'Azur nowadays.

A much more serious film than the Hollywood remake...

[sanddragon939 · 10/10 · 11 May 2012]

I'd seen 'The Tourist' when it first came out over a year ago. The Angelina Jolie-Johnny Depp starrer was an entertaining film...one of the things which prevented it from being great though, was that it could never make up its mind as to whether it was a suspense thriller, an action thriller or a comedy. But I'm pleased to say that the French original 'Anthony Zimmer' has no such identity crisis.

The plot of 'Zimmer' is very simple and in retrospect I can't but help feel that 'The Tourist' sometimes needlessly embellished (and in the process, complicated) the story. The simple premise allows for more focus on the characters, their motivations and their relationships. Another thing that stuck me while watching this film, in contrast to 'The Tourist' was that on the whole, it was a much more 'intelligent' film...things weren't always explained to the audiences word for word. Some things the viewer needs to put together himself while watching the film. Case in point, Chiara's (Sophie Marceau) motivation in befriending Francoise Tallandier (Yven Attal) as part of her scheme to fool Anthony Zimmer's pursuers is something which one has to assume based on the action on-screen and other subtle hints-its only explicitly spelled out more than halfway through the film (whereas in 'The Tourist', its made glaringly clear to us pretty much from the start).

A major superficial difference between the two versions is to do with the style and grandeur of the remake, which is contrasted by the relative simplicity of the original. Whereas the remake had a speedboat chase in Venice, the original has an equivalent scene of a chase sequence in an underground parking lot. The lack of emphasis on set designs and scenic beauty reinforces the film's prime focus on the character's and their story and also serves to give the film a much more 'serious' feel as opposed to the flamboyance of the remake.

Special mention must be made of the lead actor Yven Attal. Unlike Johnny Depp's comedic take on the bumbling American tourist caught up in a world of intrigue, Attal's character is an ordinary man who is keenly aware of the danger he's in, but who also adapts to circumstances quickly enough. His relationship with Marceau's character does read more like genuine love, as opposed to the relationship between Depp and Jolie in the remake which felt more like an infatuation/fascination on Depp's part. Sophie Marceau's 'Chiara' is likewise a VERY different character from Angelina Jolie's 'Elise Ward'...unlike the glamorous and enigmatically playful Elise, Chiara is a much harsher individual, though she does reveal a softer side as the story progresses.

On the whole, I feel 'Anthony Zimmer' is a much more serious, and tighter film, than the remake, though I will always remain a fan of the comically thrilling Depp-Jolie starrer as well!

If I'd only known .....

[swoonedd · 30 August 2011]

I had forgotten I wanted to see this film, and while I thought The Tourist has it's good points, that class is awesome, I only wish I knew it was really a remake of Anthony Zimmer. That would have changed everything.

Can't use English folk think of good ideas on our own? So many remakes that have far less meaning or solid characters.

OK. The Tourist is a funny, and AZ is much more rugged, despite the location. I wish I could compare the sexiness of Sophie to Angelina the other way around, but I have to say Angelina was a natural at wooing poor old Johnny. So powerful. Sophie is a different story, but they sure know how to photograph her.

I like the rawness of AZ. A shame this was not my first impression of the story.