Film Review
With
Les Revoltés,
first-time director Simon Leclère gives the gritty social
realist drama shades of dark and light by incorporating elements of
thriller and teenage romance, the result being a film that engages far
more with its compassionate handling of familiar themes than with its
technical competence. On the social realist front, Laurent
Cantet's
Ressources humaines (1999)
covers similar ground far more convincingly, avoiding the flagrant
Manichaeism that runs through Leclère's debut offering like an
all-too-visible and rather ugly watermark, and if the director had
entertained hopes of competing with the Dardennes brothers he is
clearly deluding himself. Leclère's film has many of the
shortcomings you would expect of a first film, and yet, imperfect
though it is, it engages the emotions in subtle and surprising ways and
leaves you convinced that its author is a talent to watch out for.
The film has one superb ace up its sleeve, in the casting of Paul
Bartel and Solène Rigot in the two lead roles. These two
actors, both in their early twenties, look set for bigger and better
things, having already attracted considerable critical attention, with
Bartel nominated for the Most Promising Actor César in 2014 for
his role in
Les Petits princes
(2013). There's a distinctly dangerous edge to the baldly
naturalistic performances that Bartel and Rigot bring to
Les Revoltés, one that
vividly expresses the insolence and impetuosity of late adolescence,
with an iron-clad self-belief that at this age you really can change
the world. It is because their characters ring true so powerfully
that the others in the film appear too vague and archetypal to have a
positive impact.
The film's most grievous failing is that it takes far too simplistic a
view of the social concerns underpinning the drama. The bosses
are the villains, acting irresponsibly and heartlessly out of pure
self-interest. The workers are the victims, ruthlessly exploited
by an unfair system that offers them no security and a precarious life
on a low wage that may be taken from them at any moment.
Leclère's concerns are admirable and sincerely expressed, but
his film is undermined by such an obvious them-versus-us mindset that
prevents the characters from acquiring a real identity.
Fortunately, there is more to this film than factory floor argy-bargy,
and it is with its central love story that
Les Revoltés most impresses,
scripted and directed with delicacy and authentically played by two of
French cinema's most promising young talents.
© James Travers 2015
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Film Synopsis
19-year-old Pavel works at the factory in the town where he lives, just
as his father and grandfather did before him. He spends his
leisure time on the banks of the Loire with his childhood friend Anja,
whom he is now secretly in love with. Pavel is confident that
Anja will become his life partner but she has other ambitions, hoping
for a better life once she has passed her final year exams. As
the factory introduces a programme of redundancies, Anja allows herself
to be seduced by Antoine, the boss's son. For the first time in
his life, Pavel finds he is no longer certain of anything.
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.