Her Way

Marie is in her forties, has never had help from anyone, and raised her son alone. She works as a sex worker in Strasbourg and does not treat it as a matter of shame. When her son Adrien is thrown out of his vocational course she refuses to accept it and decides to find him a place at one of the best cooking schools in France. The problem is the fee, and Marie starts pushing her own limits to find the money. Cécile Ducrocq presents sex work neither as a condition to be rescued from nor as an issue; Marie is someone doing her job and the film loads no other explanation onto her. The tension in the narrative comes not from the work but from her son not wanting it. Laure Calamy plays Marie and the film rests almost entirely on her. Nissim Renard plays her son. Who it's for: Viewers who like French social drama, mother-and-son narratives, and films built on a single character. Who it's not for: The sex scenes are direct. The narrative also pursues a single objective and the supporting characters stay thin.