French drama is loosely based on journalist Florence Aubenas’s book “The Night Cleaner,” about exploitation of the working class.
At a chaotic government employment center, Marianne first encounters Christèle, a financially beleaguered single mom with three children. She’s played by Hélène Lambert, who like most of the cast members is a nonprofessional actor. The presence of these untutored natural performers adds to the gritty believability of the film, which was fictionalized from Florence Aubenas’s nonfiction book, known in English as “The Night Cleaner.
The book was published in 2010, but its author for years resisted efforts to adapt it into a film. She finally relented, provided that it would be directed by Emmanuel Carrère, a novelist who’s made two movies, one of them a documentary. Carrère wrote the screenplay with Hélène Devynck, and they altered the story to highlight the role of the writer, who’s not central to Aubenas’s account.
As Marianne works a series of cleaning gigs, she’s befriended by several generous people, mostly women, including one who offers her a battered car. Marianne uses the vehicle to give Christèle rides to her way-out-of-town job at the local port, where she’s part of a team that must clean and refresh a France-to-Britain ferry in a mere 90 minutes. Workers who dawdle will find themselves trapped on the nine-hour voyage to Portsmouth — a predicament that will, of course, eventually occur.
Soon Marianne has joined the ferry custodial crew, and she becomes close to Christèle and her kids, as well as the younger Marilou . As they clean toilets and make beds, the three women appear to be equals trapped near the bottom of the Gallic economy . But what might Christèle and Marilou think of Marianne if they knew why she was really there?They inevitably find out, in a contrived scene.
Binoche, who’s one of the film’s associate producers, is the dominant presence, even if she doesn’t appear in the poignant final shot. But it’s significant that the performer is alone in some of her most powerful moments, notably ones based on a loss the actress suffered while making the movie. These scenes are moving and indelible, but they also underscore the movie’s fundamental dilemma: It never really crosses the divide between the two worlds it attempts to depict.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Injury Update: Two Seahawks return, two held out of practice due to injuriesThe competition for the fourth and fifth wide receiver spots on the Seahawks will be tight, and a pair of key names to watch returned to practice Tuesday.
Read more »
Strange New Worlds Season 2's Ensemble Cast Broke Star Trek’s Captain Reliance, Says EPStar Trek: Strange New Worlds co-executive producer Chris Fisher praises how less Captain Pike allowed the show's ensemble cast to shine brighter.
Read more »
Star Trek Executive Producer Praises How Strange New Worlds’ Anson Mount Led Inhumans CastStar Trek: Strange New Worlds executive producer Chris Fisher hails Anson Mount's leadership in Inhumans, his role before he played Captain Pike.
Read more »
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' Gorn Explained By Legacy Effects Co-FounderWe chat with J. Alan Scott, co-founder of LegacyEffects, about the process of creating the Gorn in StarTrekStrangeNewWorlds season 2's finale:
Read more »
Imagining Other Worlds at the India-Pakistan BorderFor decades, soldiers at the border between Attari, India, and Wagah, Pakistan, have staged an elaborate military ceremony for onlookers.
Read more »