Day 88: Loft (2008)

I was in the video store with a friend trying to find something to rent, and I wandered over to the foreign film section in hopes of finding something decent to watch. The cover of this film caught my eye, and the description piqued my interest. A quick lookup on RottenTomatoes on my blackberry indicated no reviews, which wasn't very helpful, but decided that even if it was terrible, it'd be better than watching the usual Hollywood drivel.

Loft is a Belgian film, and I was hoping it would be spoken in French (since I am somewhat bilingual in French) but it was done in Flemish, so I had to rely on subtitles. On my IMDB research, it appears the film is undergoing a Dutch remake to be released in December of this year. I am confused why there would be a need to remake a Belgian Flemish film in Dutch, but apparently there is a reason.

Five men, all married, share a loft downtown that they each bring their mistresses too. When they find a dead woman in the loft, they begin to suspect each other as there is only five keys to the loft. This leads to a whodunit, that quickly spirals from the five men to their wives and mistresses. Everyone is a suspect, everyone has a secret to hide, and no one is innocent.

The film opens with a man falling onto the hood of a car, followed by different men being interview by the police. Each question and answer makes us understand less and less, and then the narrative begins. The cinematography was great, especially considering a vast majority of the film took place within the small loft. The film grips the audience's attention within minutes and holds it for the nearly 2-hour runtime. The film encapsulates what is required to make a good thriller. The audience is provided with enough information to not feel cheated, but this information is often proven to only be half the truth and the audience quickly reels to try and figure it out for a second, third, and fourth time. A film that leaves the audience guessing until the very end, that has a strong cast, is shot well, and doesn't resort to cliches is well worth watching. This was a very pleasant find, and well worth checking out if you're in the mood for something slightly different than the usual Hollywood.