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However, he meets his match when a wealthy businessman asks him to break up his daughter's seemingly happy relationship – just a week before the wedding! Alex doubts that it can be done, but, since he has debt repayments looming, submits to the task. So he goes undercover as the girl's bodyguard, and sets out to woo her away from her nice but boring English fiancée (Andrew Lincoln of This Life). Inevitably, though, he soon starts to break his golden rule: never fall in love.
Duris is already a star across the Channel and has the potential to achieve world-wide fame. 2005's The Beat That My Heart Skipped was a minor international hit and this latest vehicle for his roguish charms should do equally well. He handles the role confidently and creates a surprisingly likeable womaniser, coming across as playful and romantic rather than creepy, which was a potential pitfall. He also shows off his comedy chops and some impressive dance moves in a sexy homage to Dirty Dancing.
Heartbreaker reminded me most of an episode of Hustle, and I mean that as both a compliment and a criticism. With its cool, confident tricksters, whizz-bang editing and upbeat soundtrack, it's certainly fun while it lasts, but it will surely evaporate from the memory the morning after. Still, it's made with a lot of flair, as you'd expect from a director with a background in TV and advertising. The whole premise pushes the realms of plausibility, the ending is dishearteningly predictable, and I must say I felt an uncomfortable amount of sympathy for Andrew Lincoln's character, who is treated completely unfairly. But Heartbreaker ultimately gets away with it, thanks to its snappy pace and genuinely funny moments.
There's an American re-make on the cards, and I can picture it already: Gerard Butler playing the heartbreaker, Katherine Heigl as his prim and proper target. They'd be hard pushed to improve upon the original though, since it's as well-made as any Hollywood chick flick, but with an uncommon amount of charm and romance, and played with enormous charisma by everyone involved. As rom-coms go, Heartbreaker is a winner.
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