Benacquista, Tonino 1961-

PERSONAL:

Born September 1, 1961, in Choisy-le-Roi, Val-de-Marne, France; son of Italian immigrants.

CAREER:

Writer and screenwriter. Previously worked as a museum night watchman and a train guard.

AWARDS, HONORS:

César Award for best writing, 2002, and European Film Award Best Screenwriter, both 2002, both for Sur Mes Lèvres; César Award for best writing, 2006, for screen adaptation De battre mon coeur s'est arrêté.

WRITINGS:

Épinglé comme une pin-up dans un placard de G.I. (title means "Nailed Like a Pin-Up in a GI's Locker"), Fleuve noir (Paris, France), 1985.

La Maldonne des sleepings, Gallimard (Paris, France), 1989.

Impossible n'est pas français, Syros (Paris, France), 1989.

Les morsures de l'aube, Rivages (Paris, France), 1993.

La machine à broyer les petites filles, Rivages (Paris, France), 1993.

Trois carrés rouges sur fond noir (title means "Three Red Squares on a Black Background"), Gallimard (Paris, France), 1994.

Victor Pigeon, illustrated by Jean-Christophe Menu, Syros (Paris France), 1996.

Saga: roman, Gallimard (Paris, France), 1997.

L'Outremangeur (graphic novel based on comic series; title means "The Overeater;" also see below), illustrated by Jacques Ferrandez, Casterman (Paris, France), 2003.

Tout à l'ego: nouvelles, le Grand livre du mois (Paris, France), 1999.

Quelqu'un d'autre: roman, Gallimard (Paris, France), 2001, translation by Adriana Hunter published as Someone Else, Bitter Lemon Press (London, England), 2005.

Coeur Tam-Tam, illustrations by Berlion, Dargaud (Paris, France), 2003.

Holy Smoke, Bitter Lemon Press (London, England), 2004.

Malavita: roman, le Grand livre du mois (Paris, France), 2004.

Quatre romans noirs (title means "Four Noir Novels"), Gallimard (Paris, France), 2005.

Le Serrurier volant, illustrated by Jacques Tardi, Estuaire, 2006.

Framed, translated by Adriana Hunter, Bitter Lemon Press (London, England), 2006.

Dieu n'a pas réponse à: mais il est bien entouré, Dargaud (Paris, France), 2007.

Also author, with Jacques Ferrandez, of the comic series "L'Outremangeur" (also see below), 1998—.

SCREENPLAYS

(With Claude Berri) La Débandade (titled in English as Hard Off), Canal+, 1999.

Le Coeur à l'ouvrage, Ciné-Valse, 2000.

(With Laurent Chalumeau) Les Morsures de l'aube, Alicéléo, 2001.

Les Films de l'Autre, 2001.

(With Jacques Audiard) Sur Mes Lèvres (titled in English as Read My Lips), Magnolia Pictures, 2001.

(With others) L'Outremangeur (based on comic series; titled in English as The Over-Eater), Film Par Film, 2003.

(With Jacques Audiard) De battre mon coeur s'est arrêté Read My Lips), Magnolia Pictures, 2005. (With Manuel Pradal) Deauville (titled in English as A Crime), ARP Productions, 2006.

TELEPLAYS

(With Pierre Boutron) Les Faux-fuyants, France 3 (FR 3), 2000.

Contributor to Moments noirs, J.P. Ruiz, 1992; contributor to television series, including Souris noire, 1987.

ADAPTATIONS:

Novels and short stories have been adapted for film, including the films Couchettes express (television), France 2 (FR2), 1992; L'Outremangeur, Film Par Film TF1 Films, 2003; and La Boite Noir (title means "The Black Box"), Europa-Corp, TF1 Films, 2005.

SIDELIGHTS:

Tonino Benacquista is one of the most successful modern French authors of fiction, graphic novels, and film scripts. The author is primarily noted for his noir fiction and films. In his novel Holy Smoke, Benacquista begins with a chance meeting between two childhood friends, Dario and Antonio. Antonio, who is fluent in French, is asked by Dario to write a love letter to a French woman. Shortly afterwards, Dario is shot in the head and Antonio sets out to find the woman and, perhaps, the killer. In the meantime, he encounters some of the toughest mobsters in Italy, as well as some intimidating Vatican representatives. An MBR Bookwatch contributor noted that the author "provides a delightfully droll dark thriller."

Benacquista collaborated with Jacques Audiard to write the screenplay for Sur Mes Lèvres, also released with the English title Read My Lips. The movie tells the story of nondescript Carla Bhem, an administrative assistant who is allowed to hire a helper. However, when her new helper, ex-convict Paul Angeli, arrives, Carla finds herself involved in both a power struggle and a seduction. A.O. Scott, writing in the New York Times, noted the film's "gritty immersion in the petty indignities of working life."

The film The Beat That My Heart Skipped, written with Jacques Audiard, was referred to as "director Jacques Audiard's re-imagination of James Toback's Fingers" by James Berardinelli on the Reel Views Web site. The film tells the story of Tom Seyr, once a pianist progeny but now a name known in the Parisian underworld. Tom is planning a heist with two other thugs when he happens to meet a talent manager who suggests that Tom go to an audition. As Tom begins to practice again, his criminal associates start to wonder what is happening to him, ultimately leading to a confrontation. Berardinelli noted that the film "is about one man's attempt to walk the tightrope between two divergent aspects of his life, and the ways in which his indecision causes him to fail at both."

Written with Manuel Pradal, the film Deauville, also released with the English title A Crime, revolves around the murder of Vincent's wife, who discovered his wife's body. However, he recalls that on the way home he saw a dented taxi driven by a man in bright red jacket and wearing a gaudy ring. Three years later, a woman who is pining for Vincent encounters a taxi driver with the intention of seducing him and pinning the murder on him. Her ultimate plan is to make Vincent at peace with his wife's death so he will turn his attentions to her. Daily Variety contributor Lisa Nesselson, called the film a "narratively catchy look at a meant-to-be romance hobbled by a few pesky obstacles."

In his 2006 novel, Framed, Benacquista tells the story of Antoine, who works by day in an art gallery and at night is a promising billiards player. When he stops an art thief one day and is injured, he discovers he can never play billiards professionally again. Distraught, Antoine seeks revenge on the people who planned the heist. In the process, he becomes the prime suspect in a murder. "Framed is a short and fast novel, a fun read, and highly recommended," wrote a contributor to the International Noir Fiction Web site. A Publishers Weekly contributor commented that the "unusual main character makes a refreshing change from the stock hero of so much genre fiction."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Daily Variety, June 23, 2006, Nicole LaPorte, "Scribe Takes Whack at Pic," p. 5; September 7, 2006, Lisa Nesselson, review of A Crime, p. 2.

Film Journal International, July, 2002, Ed Kelleher, review of Read My Lips, p. 61; August, 2005, Doris Toumarkine, review of The Beat That My Heart Skipped, p. 41.

MBR Bookwatch, April, 2005, review of Holy Smoke.

New York Times, July 5, 2002, A.O. Scott, review of Read My Lips; July 1, 2005, Manhola Dargis, review of The Beat That My Heart Skipped.

Publishers Weekly, May 22, 2006, review of Framed, p. 34.

Variety, October 15, 2001, Derek Elley, review of Read My Lips, p. 38; July 28, 2003, Lisa Nesselson, review of The Over-Eater, p. 29; November 14, 2005, Lisa Nesselson, review of The Black Box, p. 41.

ONLINE

Austin Chronicle,http://www.austinchronicle.com/ (September 16, 2005), Marjorie Baumgarten, review of The Beat That My Heart Skipped.

Boston Globe,http://www.boston.com/ (July 22, 2005), Ty Burr, review of The Beat That My Heart Skipped.

C'mma,http://www.commapress.co.uk/ (July 25, 2007), brief profile of author.

Complete Review,http://www.complete-review.com/ (July 25, 2007), review of Framed.

Internet Movie Database,http://www.imdb.com/ (July 25, 2007), information on author's film work.

International Noir Fiction,http://internationalnoir.blogspot.com/ (July 12, 2006), review of Framed.

Reel Views,http://www.reelviews.net/ (July 25, 2007), James Berardinelli, review of The Beat That My Heart Skipped.

Seattle Weekly,http://www.seattleweekly.com/ (July 27, 2005), Jean-Claude Lother, review of The Beat That My Heart Skipped.

Variety.com,http://www.variety.com/ (February 17, 2005), Eddie Cockrell, review of The Beat That My Heart Skipped.

Village Voice,http://www.villagevoice.com/ (June 28, 2005), Michael Atkinson, review of The Beat That My Heart Skipped.

Wellspring,http://www.wellspring.com/ (July 25,2007), brief profile of author.