TIME OUT
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2002 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): ***
In TIME OUT (L' EMPLOI DU TEMPS), Vincent (Aurélien Recoing), a middle age, middle class man, works harder at the job that he doesn't have than most people do at the job that they do have. Utterly lost after being fired from his job of eleven years, he puts on a happy face and convinces his wife Muriel (Karin Viard) and the rest of family and friends that he has a new job -- one at a UN agency in Geneva that requires him to be gone most of the time. When he isn't sleeping in his car or calling his wife on his cell phone, he reads and researches voraciously about his new and non-existent position.
Basically a tragedy about a man whose financial crisis has pushed him into the abyss, the story evolves into one about a con artist. Whether through planning or luck -- bad luck -- Vincent finds that his imaginary UN position is great for scamming. In no time at all, the likable and trustworthy Vincent is getting people to invest money in a non-existent African investment. His friends and relatives don't realize that they're giving money to a mythical company of a man without a job. The word quickly spreads, and people demand that he take their money as well. Like Mickey Mouse in "The Sorcerer's Apprentice," Vincent has no idea how to stop what he has started. Having no clue as to his endgame, he just tries to get through each day.
With the cool blue cinematography that is so popular in tragedies and with sad cello strains, the movie sets a morose mood that offers little hope. Shooting frequently through plate-glass windows and glass office doors, the director makes us more observers than participants. We cry from afar.
The movie's only mistake is its final scene. After a perfect and ambiguous ending, the director tacks on a final scene in which everything is wrapped up too neatly. The ambiguous ending was terrific. It let every member of the audience draw their own conclusions about the rest of Vincent's life.
TIME OUT runs a little long at 2:12. The film is in French with English subtitles. It is rated PG-13 for "sensuality". It would be acceptable for kids old enough to be able to read subtitles and to be interested in serious themes.
The film is playing in nationwide release now in the United States. In the Silicon Valley, it is showing at the Camera Cinemas.
Web: http://www.InternetReviews.com
Email: Steve.Rhodes@InternetReviews.com
Want free reviews and weekly movie and video recommendations via Email?
Just send me a letter with the word "subscribe" in the subject line.
========== X-RAMR-ID: 31865 X-Language: en X-RT-ReviewID: 314761 X-RT-TitleID: 1113914 X-RT-SourceID: 703 X-RT-AuthorID: 1271 X-RT-RatingText: 3/4
The review above was posted to the
rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the
review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright
belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due
to ASCII to HTML conversion.
Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews