Grand central (2013)
Directed by Rebecca Zlotowski

Film Review

Three years after she wowed the critics with her debut feature Belle épine (2010), director Rebecca Zlotowski takes the nuclear option for her second film, drawing an analogy between love and radioactive contamination that is about as subtle and tasteful as a fluorescent green tie at a Mormon funeral.  In contrast to the confident sparsity of Zlotowski's first cinematic offering, a coming-of-age flick that blazes with insight and panache, Grand central feels self-conscious and too well-oiled, weighed down by cumbersome clichés and a script that has patently gone through far too many re-writes.  Like a nuclear power station, it impresses from a distance, but you are somewhat reluctant to get too near to it.

The film's power derives from its stark visuals, which powerfully evoke a precarious world that few of us will ever witness, and the magnetic performances of its two lead actors.  But this power is diminished by Zlotowski's tendency to overstate her observations, instead of allowing the spectator to tease out and interpret for himself whatever hidden messages the film might contain.  Caught in the rift between a hard-hitting social drama and a stylised romantic intrigue (the classic French love triangle), Grand central has some touches of brilliance, but these are rapidly dissipated as the plot trudges along, far too mechanically, towards it predictable conclusion, accompanied by an oppressive soundtrack that soon becomes wearisome.

Having shown herself to be an actress of the first rank in Zlotowski's first film, Léa Seydoux once again captivates us, this time as a sensual modern femme fatale who proves to be as deadly as a cracked nuclear reactor (only a lot easier on the eye).  Impressive though her performance is, Seydoux's character is less fully developed, and therefore less convincing, than that of her co-star Tahar Rahim, here excelling in his best role since his award-winning turn in Jacques Audiard's Un prophète (2009).  Admirably well-suited for playing ambiguous marginal characters, Rahim reveals a more sensitive and humane side in this film, bringing a reality to his low-life portrayal that is at times astoundingly visceral.  There are some fine contributions from the exemplary supporting cast (Denis Ménochet, Johan Libéreau, Olivier Gourmet and Camille Lellouche), but it is the duo formed by Seydoux and Rahim that virtually monopolises our attention.

Despite the strong performances, the romantic strand to the narrative is the least satisfying element of the film, perhaps because it relies too heavily on familiar cinematic clichés and fails to go much beyond the mundane.  Far more convincing are the group scenes set in the employees' makeshift camp and the sequences in the nuclear power plant, which have a near-documentary realism and providing a stark counterpoint with one another - camaraderie in a humane setting juxtaposed against blatant exploitation in the most alien of environments.  Wisely, Zlotowski stays well clear of the debate over the rights and wrongs of nuclear power, but her film offers some pertinent messages on the extent to which workers' rights have been eroded in recent years in the push for profit.  Grand central is too glib and demonstrative to convey its subtext effectively, too laboured to satisfy as a piece of drama, but it nonetheless manages to leave a lasting impression and reaffirms Rebecca Zlotowski's status as one of France's most promising auteur filmmakers.

Film Synopsis

After a succession of odd jobs, Gary finds work in a nuclear power plant.  Here, near to the reactors where the radiation level is at its strongest, he falls in love with co-worker Karole.  Unfortunately, she is already married - to a man named Toni.  Before long, Gary is contaminated on two fronts - by radiation and a forbidden love - and in both cases he soon finds himself in the danger zone...