"Bullhead" director Roskam takes "The Tiger"

Michael R. Roskam (left) alongside Matthias Schoenaerts (right).

Among the less deplorable selections of this past year's Academy Awards nominations was the Foreign Language Film selection, which featured more intriguing picks than simply the magnificent winner that was "A Separation". There are still a handful of black marks in "Footnote" and "In Darkness", but there wasn't much cynicism to be had over "Monsieur Lazhar" or "Bullhead". The latter has gained a reputation as the unofficial runner-up of the award, all while giving a fair amount of press for star Matthias Schoenaerts, and more recently for director Michael R. Roskam. The Oscar-nominated filmmaker is now preparing to make a long-term name for himself.

"The Tiger", a project once meant for Darren Aronofsky before he turned himself onto "Noah", will now move forward with Roskam at the helm. Aronofsky is still in place as producer, along with Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Ari Handel, Mark Heyman and Jeremy Kleiner. "Bullhead" has been an object of desire to me for some time, not only due to lead Schoenaerts part in Cannes debut "Rust and Bone", but because it seems to be of a distinct visual style, as well as a certain brutality. Give the plot description attached to "The Tiger", Roskam sounds as fitting a decision as any to take it forward. I'd even indulge him as a far-off Best Director nominee when the time and film is right. Take a look at a basic plot description from the book after the jump!

CANNES 2012 REACTIONS: "Rust and Bone"

This seems almost certainly the film that people were keeping an eye on heading into this Cannes Film Festival, but can you blame Jacques Audiard for not being as brilliant as he was with "A Prophet"? Hardly, though there is much of a diverging debate growing on the merits of his latest film, "Rust and Bone". Yes, it is a love story, and it seems that it throws in some sentimentality to the works. The core problem may indeed be that the plot is rather conventional, as many people are accusing the film of. Those hesitations notwithstanding, the grand portion of reviews have been quite positive, if not as ecstatic as Audiard's previous premiere.

Todd McCarthy (Hollywood Reporter): "Audiard’s visual and dramatic approach is glancing, deliberately fragmented, marked by harsh contrasts between bright, bleached-out light and forbidding darkness. Charged emotions are felt and expressed but remain contained and not wallowed in. When Stephanie awakens in the hospital after her accident and realizes what’s happened to her, the dreadfulness of her discovery is palpable. But soon enough it’s absorbed, to the point where she calls Ali to take her on an outing (to the Croisette in Cannes), where he takes her back into the water."