de battre mon coeur sest arrêté ( the beat that my heart skip ) be another superb and delicate character drive film from french writer or director jacques audiard ( read my lip ) and his collaborator tonino benacquista . how this director can take such potentially fragile subject and create enormously powerful and indelible character would indicate that he be one of cinema truly important artist . the story evolve a thomas seyr ( romain duris ) be see a a member of a real estate scam work with smarmy associate who buy and sell building at the expense and eviction of poor tenant . the work be distasteful but thomas be follow the lead of his father robert ( niels arestrup ) and a man on the skid who depend on thomas to do his collection . thomas loathe the work but be devote to his rundown father . we discover that thomas mother and a former concert pianist and be dead when thomas encounter his old piano teacher who urge him to practice despite his ten year absence from play and to audition for a new career . a light of hope go on in thomas psyche and he be lead to a chinese immigrant pianist miao lin ( linh dan pham ) who take him on a a pupil to prepare him for his anticipated audition . a thomas practice and his world of crime do not abate and he be intermittently pull away from his passion for the piano by his old partner as well a his father continue need for his wouldirty service . he be tear between the life he have be lead and the promise of a career with his mother ( and his ) passion for beauty in music . when the partition tenuously separate these dual life be break and thomas struggle to find his way back to music . the end be unexpected and keep in step with the verismo of the screenplay . romain duris be a major talent and deliver the kind of performance that indicate he be become a powerhouse of an actor . but the real star of the film be the director who know how to relate a glimpse of a man life in subtle and quiet way despite the accompany background of violence . it be a delicate balance and jacques audiard make it work . highly recommended . grady harp .