The film is based on the The Adversary (Carrère book) by Emmanuel Carrère which is inspired by the real-life story of Jean-Claude Romand. ''L'Adversaire'''s protagonist Jean-Marc Faure (Auteuil) pursues an imaginary career as a doctor of medicine in a plot more closely based on Romand's life and Carrère's book than was Laurent Cantet's 2001 film ''L'Emploi du Temps''.