A movie about shifting allegiances, secrets and betrayals.
One has to admire the originality, ingenuity and clock-work precision of Bart De Pauw's screenplay : it's a work of art. De Pauw, an asset to Flemish comedy and thriller writing both, has done some excellent work and "Loft" is one of the highlights of his career.
The movie is characterized by an admirable unity of artistic vision : it is "Loft" from the first second to the last, without tonal shifts or missteps. It is also notable for breathing claustrophobic and disillusioned noir, a rare achievement in Flemish film.
Sadly "Loft" didn't grip and involve me as much as it should have. In a certain sense it was too well done - too cerebral, too clever, too coldly abstract. It also struck me as over-convoluted, with too many people whose secrets had secrets, whose agendas had agendas and whose lies had lies. (In fairness it should be noted that I have watched the movie with other viewers, who were riveted to the point of sitting on the edge of their seats and failing to breathe.) Still, the movie was deadly accurate in pointing out that there exist "friendships" which are nothing else than egotism or rivalry turned inside-out.
One has to admire the originality, ingenuity and clock-work precision of Bart De Pauw's screenplay : it's a work of art. De Pauw, an asset to Flemish comedy and thriller writing both, has done some excellent work and "Loft" is one of the highlights of his career.
The movie is characterized by an admirable unity of artistic vision : it is "Loft" from the first second to the last, without tonal shifts or missteps. It is also notable for breathing claustrophobic and disillusioned noir, a rare achievement in Flemish film.
Sadly "Loft" didn't grip and involve me as much as it should have. In a certain sense it was too well done - too cerebral, too clever, too coldly abstract. It also struck me as over-convoluted, with too many people whose secrets had secrets, whose agendas had agendas and whose lies had lies. (In fairness it should be noted that I have watched the movie with other viewers, who were riveted to the point of sitting on the edge of their seats and failing to breathe.) Still, the movie was deadly accurate in pointing out that there exist "friendships" which are nothing else than egotism or rivalry turned inside-out.