Belgian writer-director Michaël R. Roskam’s “Racer and the Jailbird” blends a flashy
crime-thriller with somber romantic drama as it tracks the relationship between
affluent race car driver Bibi (Adèle Exarchopoulos, “Blue is the Warmest Color”) and a career
criminal with a heart of gold named Gigi (Matthias Schoenaerts, “A Bigger
Splash”). But the two genres never quite gel, and the somber plotting of the
love story frequently clashes with the need for speed action theatrics — though
we do get strong performances and a nicely-staged one-take highway heist along
the way.
Both risk takers in their own way, Gigi and Bibi immediately
fall for one another, though we sense early on that trouble is on the horizon. Gigi
claims to make his living importing and exporting cars, and despite the fact
Bibi knows that he’s lying, he does his best to keep her in the dark about the
nature of his true vocation. All the while Gigi’s friends prod him into taking
part in riskier and more dangerous capers, but the couple’s devotion to one
another gets them through the tumultuous ups and downs of their relationship
(the film’s original title of “Le Fidèle” — “The
Faithful” — seems much more fitting than its unimaginative English language
moniker).
It’s an interesting setup, but the film’s compelling first
half completely falls apart in the overwrought second, as Roskam
shifts gears into a full blown melodrama. Exarchopoulos
and Schoenaerts (who can smolder with the best of them) turn in solid
performances, and their magnetic chemistry helps fill in for their somewhat
underdeveloped characters. In the end “Racer and the Jailbird” is disappointing
more than anything else; it’s been a long while since I’ve seen another film
start so promisingly before so spectacularly crashing and burning by the time
it crosses the finish line.
This article appears in May 16-22, 2018.
