Burnt Out – Sauf Le Respect Que Je Vous Dois (Fabienne Godet, France 2005, 90mins)
Fabienne Godet’s earnest first feature is the story of a white collar Everyman who’s finally had enough and will take no more. An unlikely hero, mild-mannered Francois Durrieux (Olivier Gourmet), middle-aged, middle-management, husband and father is pushed to breaking point after his close friend and colleague commits suicide. This tragic event utterly shifts the balance of Francois’s life and he suddenly finds himself thrust into an arena for which he’s had no precedent in the predictable and ordered life he’s lead up to this moment. But conscience, grief, and rage over what he believes to have been a grave injustice have awakened him to a new, brutal but more truthful reality.
The corporate tactic of employing invisible psychological oppression has become an unfortunate norm in our contemporary global society. For those unable, or unwilling to abide by the rules of the game, it can become an intolerable situation, and outspoken but emotionally vulnerable Simon (Jean-Michel Portal) would prove to be an absolute case in point. Bruner (Jean-Marie Winling), the autocratic MD of the printing plant for which Francois and Simon work is the quintessential smiling viper. With a smile on his face, he metes out ultimatums couched in upbeat management jargon. All the employees are under considerable pressure – big restructuring plans are in the make and redundancies will be sure to follow. Frustrated at his colleagues for what he sees as meek submission, and furious at senior management’s casual exploitation of an already overburdened workforce, Simon lashes out, but his rebellious behaviour merely seals his fate. Bruner has him right where he wants him and sets a trap that unwitting Simon walks right into – with fatal consequences.
The film opens at the crucial moment that will irreversibly change the course of Francois’s life. In a disorienting sequence of shots we see a character (that we soon learn to be Francois) ramming the back of a car that he has been pursuing down the motorway. We then meet Lisa (Marion Cotillard), a young woman from the wrong side of the tracks, and Francois’s wife, patient and calm Clémence (Dominique Blanc). The film then brings us back in time to show the path that has led Francois to this point. Towards the middle of the film the opening sequence is repeated and we are then deposited in the present time where the story then progresses. By this point, Francois has become a fugitive. It seems that the car he rammed off the road not only contained the senior board members of the company, but Bruner himself, who was actually killed in the accident. The unusual story attracts the attention of Flora (Julie Depardieu) an idealistic young journalist who reveals that Simon had actually been sacked (a point the company kept silent about at the time of his suicide), which helps her to understand Francois’s violent outburst and take up his cause.
Godet ambitious attempt at making a noir-ish thriller with a social imperative is indeed noble as it is timely, and the fact that she has managed to rally so many heavyweights of French and Belgian cinema to her cause is testament to her humanist and artistic integrity. But somehow neither the sum nor its parts manage to make a powerful enough impact. The film fails to grip us in suspense or pull at our heart with any lasting effect and you can’t help feel that it should. To be sure, the suicide of Simon is harrowing and can’t help to elicit shock and pity, but the fact is that we never really get inside Simon’s shoes. We see that he is sensitive and vulnerable; that is, he has the appearance of a complex character, but scratch the surface a bit and what he really is at best is a cipher; at worst a thinly drawn character. And Francois, despite a compelling performance by Olivier Gourmet, suffers from the same problem. The employment of archetypal characters is fundamental to the noir form and in positing these formal elements within a realist milieu has an unquestionable appeal to it, but Godet has not yet developed the skill to pull this off convincingly enough. The most obvious example is the unlikely pairing of Lisa and Francois. Lisa, whose hard life has taught her how to survive, represents the rebellious free spirit and guiding light that fortifies Francois’s resolve to overcome his fears in pursuit of inner truth and freedom. This ploy is as hackneyed as it is ridiculous and the situation is made all the worse by Marion Cotillard’s amateur, over-bearing and utterly unconvincing portrayal of Lisa.
Fabienne Godet’s academic and professional background in psychology is evident in the humanist concerns of her subject and in her interest in the psychological make-up of her characters. These are valuable attributes and while Burnt Out is not quite as assured a debut as one would have hoped considering the pedigree of the cast, it will be interesting to see what the promising young director will next produce.
Review by Erica Rosen
The corporate tactic of employing invisible psychological oppression has become an unfortunate norm in our contemporary global society. For those unable, or unwilling to abide by the rules of the game, it can become an intolerable situation, and outspoken but emotionally vulnerable Simon (Jean-Michel Portal) would prove to be an absolute case in point. Bruner (Jean-Marie Winling), the autocratic MD of the printing plant for which Francois and Simon work is the quintessential smiling viper. With a smile on his face, he metes out ultimatums couched in upbeat management jargon. All the employees are under considerable pressure – big restructuring plans are in the make and redundancies will be sure to follow. Frustrated at his colleagues for what he sees as meek submission, and furious at senior management’s casual exploitation of an already overburdened workforce, Simon lashes out, but his rebellious behaviour merely seals his fate. Bruner has him right where he wants him and sets a trap that unwitting Simon walks right into – with fatal consequences.
The film opens at the crucial moment that will irreversibly change the course of Francois’s life. In a disorienting sequence of shots we see a character (that we soon learn to be Francois) ramming the back of a car that he has been pursuing down the motorway. We then meet Lisa (Marion Cotillard), a young woman from the wrong side of the tracks, and Francois’s wife, patient and calm Clémence (Dominique Blanc). The film then brings us back in time to show the path that has led Francois to this point. Towards the middle of the film the opening sequence is repeated and we are then deposited in the present time where the story then progresses. By this point, Francois has become a fugitive. It seems that the car he rammed off the road not only contained the senior board members of the company, but Bruner himself, who was actually killed in the accident. The unusual story attracts the attention of Flora (Julie Depardieu) an idealistic young journalist who reveals that Simon had actually been sacked (a point the company kept silent about at the time of his suicide), which helps her to understand Francois’s violent outburst and take up his cause.
Godet ambitious attempt at making a noir-ish thriller with a social imperative is indeed noble as it is timely, and the fact that she has managed to rally so many heavyweights of French and Belgian cinema to her cause is testament to her humanist and artistic integrity. But somehow neither the sum nor its parts manage to make a powerful enough impact. The film fails to grip us in suspense or pull at our heart with any lasting effect and you can’t help feel that it should. To be sure, the suicide of Simon is harrowing and can’t help to elicit shock and pity, but the fact is that we never really get inside Simon’s shoes. We see that he is sensitive and vulnerable; that is, he has the appearance of a complex character, but scratch the surface a bit and what he really is at best is a cipher; at worst a thinly drawn character. And Francois, despite a compelling performance by Olivier Gourmet, suffers from the same problem. The employment of archetypal characters is fundamental to the noir form and in positing these formal elements within a realist milieu has an unquestionable appeal to it, but Godet has not yet developed the skill to pull this off convincingly enough. The most obvious example is the unlikely pairing of Lisa and Francois. Lisa, whose hard life has taught her how to survive, represents the rebellious free spirit and guiding light that fortifies Francois’s resolve to overcome his fears in pursuit of inner truth and freedom. This ploy is as hackneyed as it is ridiculous and the situation is made all the worse by Marion Cotillard’s amateur, over-bearing and utterly unconvincing portrayal of Lisa.
Fabienne Godet’s academic and professional background in psychology is evident in the humanist concerns of her subject and in her interest in the psychological make-up of her characters. These are valuable attributes and while Burnt Out is not quite as assured a debut as one would have hoped considering the pedigree of the cast, it will be interesting to see what the promising young director will next produce.
Review by Erica Rosen
posted by Barnaby at 2:03 PM
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