Film Review – Racer and the Jailbird

Director Michael R. Roskam made an art-house impression with the Belgian drama “Bullhead,” and quickly graduated to Hollywood employment with 2014’s “The Drop,” put in charge of a crime saga that featured actor Matthias Schoenaerts, his good luck charm. With studio work out of his system, Roskam returns to Belgium with “Racer and the Jailbird,” an unusual film that teases criminal interests and action before it takes a leap into the deep end of melodrama, with the production aiming to break a few bones before it jerks a few tears. Roskam is after something specific with his latest work, but he doesn’t have a viable map to get there, leaving the picture intermittently alluring, with two fine lead performances from Schoenaerts and Adele Exarchopoulos carrying the effort through some bewildering plotting and sudden emotional manipulation.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com