The Beat That My Heart Skipped (2005)

2 1/2 Stars (out of 4)

Wrapped Around His 'Fingers'

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

It's fairly unusual to see a French remake of an American movie, and some experts have been puzzling over whether other examples even exist. Yet here is Jacques Audiard's The Beat That My Heart Skipped, based on James Toback's great 1978 film Fingers, starring Harvey Keitel. Romain Duris stars as a thug who listens to electronic music on his headphones (Keitel loved girl bands in the original) and helps his father run their shady real estate business by dumping rats into occupied apartments or smashing windows. A brush with his late mother's old concert promoter re-awakens his passion for classical music, and he begins to practice for an audition. Duris turns in a complex performance as this sometimes unlikable, explosive character and Audiard's camerawork has an appealing gloomy, exploratory quality. Yet, like any remake, it lurks in the shadow of its predecessor; The Beat That My Heart Skipped often feels meek, as if afraid to truly tromp on the original's territory. It pays homage with a distant politeness, treating Fingers as an untouchable, unshakable idol.

In 2025, the Criterion Collection released a Blu-ray of this unassuming film, giving it another chance for people like myself. (The critic reviews and audience ratings were generally more favorable than my own.) The transfer, mostly bleak, urban shaky-cam, looks sharp and balanced, and the soundtrack really bumps the character's music as well as caressing the classical music in later scenes. Bonuses include a new, 16-minute interview with director Jacques Audiard (who later achieved a bit of fame, or infamy, as the director of the multiple-Oscar-nominated Emilia Pérez), a 2005 press conference from the Berlin Film Festival (40 minutes), an interview with screenwriter Tonino Benacquista (8 minutes), an interview with the acclaimed composer Alexandre Desplat (6 minutes), deleted scenes with optional commentary (25 minutes), footage of the actors rehearsing (10 minutes), and a trailer. The liner notes booklet includes an essay by film critic Jonathan Romney. Recommended.