Director Pieter Van Hees Live in Person!The second feature in an announced trilogy from Belgian director Pieter Van Hees, this darkly comic outing about an introverted loser-cum-ladies man represents a departure from the atmospheric horror of last year's LEFT BANK. While themes of psychological upheaval and uninhibited sexuality resonate through both films, Van Hees' latest production is more likely to leave audiences grinning in perverse satisfaction, rather than grimacing with dread.
The film's prologue opens on a university lecture hall wherein neurology professor David Vandewoestijne (Peter Van den Begin) discusses the physiology underlying human behavior and emotion, remarking upon the existential irony that something as apparently profound as human happiness or misery can be reduced to the tiniest of electrical impulses in the brain.
This monologue preps us for the entrance of sweetly pathetic Diego, (comedian-turned-actor Wim Helsen) a special effects technician working for a small-time television production company with his egotistical stuntman brother Cisse (Robbie Cleiren). A whipping boy for life's little injustices, Diego can't talk to girls, gets no respect from his peers or his family, and loses arguments with garbage collectors.
That all changes when Cisse is sidelined by a minor injury and convinces Diego to take his place on a challenging stunt that lands him in the hospital. Upon regaining consciousness, Diego announces that he feels "sexy" and is changing his name to Tony T, "like TNT... Boom!" Diagnosed with a personality-altering frontal lobe disorder, Diego/Tony refuses to listen when his doctors tell him he needs treatment, preferring instead to aggressively flirt his way through his consultation with Jaana, (Kristine Van Pellicom) the beautiful medical assistant assigned to his case.
Released from the hospital pending a period of observation, Diego/Tony becomes the person he always wanted to be: charismatic, uninhibited and successful. He quickly surpasses his brother's position as top stuntman and sexual conquistador on the television set, all the while attempting to seduce Jaana as she evaluates his behavior in order to reach a conclusive diagnosis. The film shifts gears as the audience is drawn into Tony's exhilarating new life as a professional risk-taker. While we're treated to a pleasurable cacophony of sex, explosions, and car crashes, the true delight is Helsen's remarkable, dichotomous performance. Watching him inhabit these two characters is a seduction in itself.
Unfortunately, as Tony's uninhibited behavior escalates, his decisions become increasingly destructive, and he begins to agonize over whether or not he should undergo treatment to restore his original personality. He simultaneously revels in and reviles the person he has become, and Jaana is the only person he can turn to when his newfound happiness begins to crumble. (Carrie Matherly)
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