The story's no easy sell. Bill, an Okie working-class type beautifully played by Matt Damon, has a daughter in prison in Marseille, France. The story is that she's innocent. Bill's always been a screw-up, but he's been off the sauce, for good now, and he's trying to do right by the daughter he's mostly ignored her whole life.
Marseille is not Oklahoma or even Paris, by a long shot, but, somehow, Bill's actions there are made very plausible. It's a tough town. And most scenes take place in the seedier parts of the city. And yet there are no scenes that I couldn't believe might actually happen and everyone he meets seems someone cut from real life. Add to that the great job all the supporting actors do, especially the kid, Maya, and you have a very entertaining, very educational, gem of a movie.
Marseille is not Oklahoma or even Paris, by a long shot, but, somehow, Bill's actions there are made very plausible. It's a tough town. And most scenes take place in the seedier parts of the city. And yet there are no scenes that I couldn't believe might actually happen and everyone he meets seems someone cut from real life. Add to that the great job all the supporting actors do, especially the kid, Maya, and you have a very entertaining, very educational, gem of a movie.