If you can imagine a film by Ken Loach (say, Sorry We Missed You) or the Dardennes brothers (say, Two Days, One Night) and instead of these social realist film-makers' studied, sometimes subtle, but always uncompromisingly real, approaches to film-making being replaced by a nail-biting, fast moving drama with equally pacy (electronic) soundtrack, then you'll be in the vicinity of (near novice) French writer-director, Éric Gravel's 2021 film. Of course, as we follow Laure Calamy's remarkably intense turn as single mother, Julie Roy, and her groundhog day-like 'lifestyle' of battling with everything (rail-taxi strikes, replacement bus services, financial insecurity, demanding job at a luxury Parisian hotel, agitating children, etc.) that life can throw at her, we (perhaps) ask the question, 'do we really want to sit through a(n admittedly rather concise) version of the stressful lives many of us actually experience first-hand'? Short of rejecting Gravel's film out of hand on this basis, I would challenge anyone not to get tied up in Julie's life frustrations and to really feel for this increasingly desperate woman. The undeniable dramatic power of Gravel's tale is probably roughly 50/50 driven by the director's film-making skills (particularly, editing and music) - notable for someone with relatively little experience - and the stellar central performance by Calamy, whose ability to mix calm professionalism, latent frustration and tender mothering skills is outstanding.
Of course, Gravel's drama raises a host of real social-political issues - amongst them the topical debate of working from home (an option Julie and her hotel work colleagues fantasise about), industrial relations (us Brits' common, stereotypical view of Julie's fellow countrymen!), family breakdown (and the consequent demand for childcare), the end of the 9-to-5 working culture, etc. - and Gravel tackles all of them head-on and to totally convincing dramatic effect. Associated with the film's unnervingly realistic approach to all these issues is its one-track nature - can Julie's tale really go anywhere? There is little in the way of relief here, certainly, save for Julie's stolen, embarrassed kiss at one point, but Gravel manages this potentially one-dimensional dilemma very effectively and dramatically.
The other comparator film that occurred to me, dealing with the (female-focused) modern-day work environment and which is at the other end of the dramatic spectrum to Gravel's film, is Kitty Green's slower and altogether more subtle 2019 film, The Assistant.
Of course, Gravel's drama raises a host of real social-political issues - amongst them the topical debate of working from home (an option Julie and her hotel work colleagues fantasise about), industrial relations (us Brits' common, stereotypical view of Julie's fellow countrymen!), family breakdown (and the consequent demand for childcare), the end of the 9-to-5 working culture, etc. - and Gravel tackles all of them head-on and to totally convincing dramatic effect. Associated with the film's unnervingly realistic approach to all these issues is its one-track nature - can Julie's tale really go anywhere? There is little in the way of relief here, certainly, save for Julie's stolen, embarrassed kiss at one point, but Gravel manages this potentially one-dimensional dilemma very effectively and dramatically.
The other comparator film that occurred to me, dealing with the (female-focused) modern-day work environment and which is at the other end of the dramatic spectrum to Gravel's film, is Kitty Green's slower and altogether more subtle 2019 film, The Assistant.