Le Dernier pour la route (2009) - film review

Hervé, the head of a press agency, finds that his life and his career are being ruined by his alcohol addiction.  Realising that he risks losing everything that he holds dear, he takes the decision to give up drinking and begins a course of detoxification at a specialist centre in Geneva.  Here, Hervé meets others who share his terrible addiction and who will provide him with the encouragement he needs to pull through and start a new life...

Alcoholism is a complex and emotive subject.  Most films which deal with alcohol dependency tend to be almost exclusively concerned with the tragic angle, the addict’s slow but inevitable descent into Hell and the devastating impact on those around him.  Le Dernier pour la route is quite different.  Instead of showing an alcoholic’s traumatic fall, it shows his recovery via treatment at a modern detoxification centre.   The film eschews fancy stylisation (of the kind that the subject naturally tends to invite) for a more sober, realist approach.  The director pretty well takes a backseat and allows his actors to do the work.  Through them, we see the impact that alcohol addiction has had on their characters’ lives and how much of a challenge it is for these characters to make a fresh start.  It is a simple, understated film, and it is all the more poignant and arresting for being so.  Rightly, alcoholism is presented not as a form of gratuitous self-abuse, but as a terrible disease which, like any other physical or mental ailment, must be treated by dedicated medical practitioners.  The film is as eye-opening as it is compassionate, and shows that there is indeed hope for those who are suffering from alcohol dependency, one of the main scourges of our time.

The film relates a true story, adapted from the autobiographical book of the same title by Hervé Chabalier, a successful press agent whose career and home life came close to being wrecked by what we would euphemistically term a drink problem.  Chabalier’s inspiring story is powerfully rendered by Philippe Godeau in his first feature as a director.  Prior to this Godeau had established himself as one of France’s most highly regarded independent film producers, with an impressive track record.  His production credits include such diverse works as Maurice Pialat’s Le Garçu (1995), Jaco Van Dormael’s Le Huitième Jour (1996) and, most controversially of all, Virginie Despentes’provocative Baise-moi (2000).

Godeau’s approach is pretty well to let the story tell itself.  There are no grand stylistic touches, no attempts to play the emotion card or to make a profound moral point.  The film is as objective as it is non-judgemental. Its focus is the main protagonist Hervé (played with extraordinary authenticity by François Cluzet) and the characters who share his plight in the detox centre.  We observe the strict regime at the centre and the small personal dramas that take place there, including a touching friendship that develops between Hervé and a self-destructive younger woman, Magali.  Godeau’s light-touch direction is perfectly suited for this kind of intimate drama, in which most of the emotional conflict takes place beneath the skin.

The performances are so natural, so true to life that you could almost mistake this for a piece of documentary.  Cluzet’s intensely introspective portrayal of a man struggling with his inner demons is beautifully complemented by those of his co-stars, Michel Vuillermoz and Mélanie Thierry - each offering a convincing depiction of a soul in torment, struggling hopelessly to break the cycle of dependency and self-loathing.  All three actors were justly nominated for awards at the 2010 Césars, although the only recipient was Thierry (in the Most Promising Actress category).  If this remarkable low-key film has a message it is that alcohol addiction can be overcome, but only with the support and kindness of others.

© James Travers 2010-2012

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