Le couperet (2005)

Director:

Costa-Gavras

Writers:

Donald E. Westlake (novel)
Costa-Gavras (writer) ...

Release Date:

2 March 2005 (France)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Plot:

A chemist (Garcia) loses his job to outsourcing. Two years later and still jobless, he hits on a solution: to genuinely eliminate his competition.

Plot Keywords:

Car Accident | Motel | Murder | Alcohol | Black Comedy

Awards:

1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

José Garcia	...	Bruno Davert
Karin Viard	...	Marlène Davert
Geordy Monfils	...	Maxime Davert
Christa Theret	...	Betty Davert
Ulrich Tukur	...	Gérard Hutchinson
Olivier Gourmet	...	Raymond Machefer
Yvon Back	...	Etienne Barnet
Thierry Hancisse	...	Inspecteur Kesler
Olga Grumberg	...	Iris Thompson
Yolande Moreau	...	Préposée poste
Dieudonné Kabongo	...	Quinlan Longus (as Dieudonné Kabongo Bashila)
Jean-Pierre Gos	...	Garagiste
Vanessa Larré	...	Prédatrice
Serge Larivière	...	Inspecteur Police
Jeanne Savary	...	La présentatrice TV

Also Known As:

Arcàdia (Spain: Catalan title)
The Ax (International: English title) (literal title)
The Axe (Australia) (TV title)

Runtime:

France:122 min

Country:

Belgium | France | Spain

Language:

French | Dutch

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Netherlands:12 | Argentina:16 | Finland:K-15 | Brazil:14 | Portugal:M/12 | South Korea:18 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Beaufays, Belgium

Company:

K.G. Productions

Trivia:

Cameo: [Donald E. Westlake]old man in employment office.

Movie Connections:

References Taking Lives (2004)

Extremely funny

Maybe the best 'noir' movie I've seen in the last years, and definitively the best Donald Westlake adaptation so far, "Arcadia" is the story of a man obsessed with a job, who thinks that the only way to get it is killing every candidate who can be better than him, and must cope with his many mistakes and family problems. It sounds like a tragedy, or a drama, but it is the best piece of black (or not so black) humor combined with noir I remember, which is surprising: I didn't know that Costa-Gavras had so much sense of humor. There are many symbols, allegories, but above it all, it mentions every controversial and denounce topic in existence for just one, two or three minutes, just to mention it. The result is, incredibly and amazingly, funny, intellectually engaging, extremely suspenseful (the results of every situation and, at last, the end of the movie are unpredictable) and a master class of narrative progression, at least until the last 20 minutes, where the movie drags. But until then it is a flawless masterpiece, and it deserves to be watched over and over again. José García is another surprise, a very good comedian.