The cinematography and editing were a delight for this movie genre so I wanted to bring that up first before it gets drowned by everything else; there is so much going on and so much to follow one's attention is easily focused elsewhere.
I wasn't familiar with director Eric Rochant's work and I have to admit I was most pleased with this film, I would not hesitate considering other of his future projects, especially if they are in similar genre and have actors I'm familiar with. In Möbius there were plenty of such actors; we all remember Jean Dujardin for his Oscar winning performance in The Artist. I also liked him in 'Les Infidèles"/The Players. You may remember Cécile De France for her performance in the absolutely delightful 'Le Gamin au Vélo '/The Kid with a Bike; she has had other notable roles in the highly charged 'Haute Tension'/Switchblade Romance and in Mesrine (parts 1 and 2) to name a few worth considering. Then there's Tim Roth, who needs no introduction, John Lynch and Émilie Duquenne who I expect will have more and better roles in the future, if I go by what I've read about her and saw in this movie. All the other supporting actors did a fine job as well.
The plot is not easy to follow or to explain for that matter, so if you're going to see this movie, you can't afford to miss much of the dialogue. Moïse, played by Dujardin, is an FSB agent on a joint French and Russian task force aimed at bringing down Ivan Rostovsky, played by Roth, a sinfully wealthy businessman who does more than dabble in international money laundering on a vast scale. Of course, Rostovsky's status also means he controls Russian politicians and that is the focus of FSB high ranking director Cherkachin's, played by Vladimir Menshov, real mission for Moïse. Moïse is loyal to Cherkachin first and foremost; the latter only has aspiration to gain the FSB top job and he has different plans for Rostovsky's influence. Hence, Moïse has a double role. The CIA has planted Alice (Cécile De France), a forced collaboration as she is not a CIA agent but rather a top finance expert, in a position where she can infiltrate Rostovsky's organization and set up him and his whole organization for their own agenda, all the while she seems to collaborate with the joint task force. I was astonished that the plot managed to have both the CIA and the new head of FSB get what they wanted out of the mission(s), but it did. You'll have to watch the movie to discover how.
Both Moïse and Alice are driven characters, smart and good at what they do. The very last thing either is suppose to do is get involved in an affair, let alone with each other, but they do. It becomes more than either wanted or anticipated. I really enjoyed how that played out even as the very last scene confirms our suspicion that their affair was more than any expected.
I saw the original French version which had the Russian dialogues sub-titled but not the English ones, as those were instead dubbed; and noticeably, all of Roth's dialogues were dubbed. Perhaps his delivery in French of a Russian accent did not fare well with the focus groups, I can only guess, but the whole dubbing aspect of the movie did not sit well with me. I can't figure why the producers did not go with sub-titles here; my conclusion is that it aimed for a European audience much more than an American one.
I recommend the movie for how it follows a steady path despite the complexity of the plot and love sub-plot, but I do caution that you have to work for the pay-off satisfaction. You may very well think when it's over that Dujardin and De France make an ideal on screen couple and you would be right.
I wasn't familiar with director Eric Rochant's work and I have to admit I was most pleased with this film, I would not hesitate considering other of his future projects, especially if they are in similar genre and have actors I'm familiar with. In Möbius there were plenty of such actors; we all remember Jean Dujardin for his Oscar winning performance in The Artist. I also liked him in 'Les Infidèles"/The Players. You may remember Cécile De France for her performance in the absolutely delightful 'Le Gamin au Vélo '/The Kid with a Bike; she has had other notable roles in the highly charged 'Haute Tension'/Switchblade Romance and in Mesrine (parts 1 and 2) to name a few worth considering. Then there's Tim Roth, who needs no introduction, John Lynch and Émilie Duquenne who I expect will have more and better roles in the future, if I go by what I've read about her and saw in this movie. All the other supporting actors did a fine job as well.
The plot is not easy to follow or to explain for that matter, so if you're going to see this movie, you can't afford to miss much of the dialogue. Moïse, played by Dujardin, is an FSB agent on a joint French and Russian task force aimed at bringing down Ivan Rostovsky, played by Roth, a sinfully wealthy businessman who does more than dabble in international money laundering on a vast scale. Of course, Rostovsky's status also means he controls Russian politicians and that is the focus of FSB high ranking director Cherkachin's, played by Vladimir Menshov, real mission for Moïse. Moïse is loyal to Cherkachin first and foremost; the latter only has aspiration to gain the FSB top job and he has different plans for Rostovsky's influence. Hence, Moïse has a double role. The CIA has planted Alice (Cécile De France), a forced collaboration as she is not a CIA agent but rather a top finance expert, in a position where she can infiltrate Rostovsky's organization and set up him and his whole organization for their own agenda, all the while she seems to collaborate with the joint task force. I was astonished that the plot managed to have both the CIA and the new head of FSB get what they wanted out of the mission(s), but it did. You'll have to watch the movie to discover how.
Both Moïse and Alice are driven characters, smart and good at what they do. The very last thing either is suppose to do is get involved in an affair, let alone with each other, but they do. It becomes more than either wanted or anticipated. I really enjoyed how that played out even as the very last scene confirms our suspicion that their affair was more than any expected.
I saw the original French version which had the Russian dialogues sub-titled but not the English ones, as those were instead dubbed; and noticeably, all of Roth's dialogues were dubbed. Perhaps his delivery in French of a Russian accent did not fare well with the focus groups, I can only guess, but the whole dubbing aspect of the movie did not sit well with me. I can't figure why the producers did not go with sub-titles here; my conclusion is that it aimed for a European audience much more than an American one.
I recommend the movie for how it follows a steady path despite the complexity of the plot and love sub-plot, but I do caution that you have to work for the pay-off satisfaction. You may very well think when it's over that Dujardin and De France make an ideal on screen couple and you would be right.