Synopsis: Sophie Malaterre (Karine Vanasse) is an unemployed fashion designer in Montreal, Canada. Without a job and friends, Sophie is not looking forward for her summer holidays. An acquaintance, Claire Maras (Maxim Roy) tells her about the website SWITCH.com that allows people to switch houses with someone else for a month. Sophie eagerly swaps her ranch house in Montreal for an apartment in Paris nearby the Eiffel Tower with a woman named Benedicte Serteaux (Karina Testa), hoping that the change will boost her spirits. However, her idealistic holiday soon turns into a nightmare when she's arrested by the police the next day. Detective Damien Forgeat (Eric Cantona) interrogates her, convinced that she is Benedicte Serteaux, a prime suspect in a brutal murder. It is then Sophie realizes she has been set up by Benedicte who now assumes her identity and is traveling to Montreal to erase any trace about Sophie.
This is a pretty taut thriller. The pacing is good, with as little drags as possible. The crazy chase on foot scene between Detective Forgeat and Sophie throughout a serene French suburb is the best highlight of the movie.
Karine Vanasse is good as Sophie, she displays a wide range of emotions - from a relaxed and carefree to a tense and teary girl. However, I do wonder how a common working lady like Sophie could display superb combat / survival capabilities such as handling a gun and getting away from a seasoned police officer on foot without sustaining serious injuries? The writer / director doesn't bother to explore this with a back story. So... yeah.
Eric Cantona (yes, you read that right; he's the former international footballer for the French national team) is quite memorable as the stoic yet soft-spoken Detective Forgeat. He doesn't speak much but his expression says it all.
Karina Testa as Benedicte Serteaux the psychopath shows her abilities as an agile and ruthless murderer during the last 20 minutes of the movie. She explains her motive nonchalantly too, as if she's doing the right thing for herself. However, judging from the brutality of the murders that she did, her motive is too unbelievable. Again, there's no back story to support her case.
Anyway, if you don't try to explore the whys and hows, I believe you will still be able to enjoy watching this movie in peace. :D
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