Behind his computer and his ordinary life, Mathieu, 25, dreams of becoming a writer. But despite his efforts, he is unable to be published. Until he finds a journal of the Algerian war among the effects of a deceased old man. Fascinated by the diary and ready to do anything for his dream, Mathieu turns the journal into a book. This brings him success, love and glory. But years later, his lies catch up with him and threaten to destroy everything he has built up …

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At first glance, the second movie by Yann Gozlan after Captifs, recycles a very classic scenario – already explored by Bradley Cooper in The Words and Johnny Depp in Secret Window. The strength of Un Homme idéal comes not from the story, but from the way Gozlan directs this morbid dance between adversaries, filmed under the sun of the Côté d’Azur, and from the charisma of Pierre Niney, supported by Ana Girardot, who is reminiscent of Virginie Ledoyen. This makes up for clunky threads in the script that turn a little too quickly to heavy symbolism to build up the intrigue for spectacular effect. But the exercise in style is nonetheless exciting, going a long way to respect the codes of the genre.