Time Out

Vincent does not tell his family he has been dismissed. Every morning he leaves the house, spends the day on motorways and in car parks, and comes home in the evening. As the lie grows he invents a fake investment scheme and starts taking money from people he knows. Laurent Cantet directed. Aurelien Recoing plays Vincent, Karin Viard his wife. Behind the idea is a real case: Jean-Claude Romand, who maintained the lie of being a doctor for years and finally killed his family. Cantet did not take the crime, only the time spent in emptiness. The subject is not work but work standing in for identity. Vincent lies not for money but so that he has something to say to someone. The cinematography works through glass: car windows, office glass, hotel windows. The character is always behind a surface. Cantet won the Palme d'Or after this with The Class; the same cool observation is already here. Who it is for: viewers who like quiet French drama and criticism of working life. Who it is not for: anyone expecting suspense; the film almost never rises.