Full Time, 2023.
Written and Directed by Eric Gravel.
Starring Laure Calamy, Anne Suarez, Geneviève Mnich, Nolan Arizmendi, Sasha Lemaître Cremaschi, Cyril Gueï, Cyril Masson, Lucie Gallo, Agathe Dronne, Mathilde Weil, Dana Fiaque, Mareme N’Diaye, Olivier Faliez, Irina Muluile, Aymeline Alix, Carima Amarouche, and Évelyne El Garby-Klaï.
SYNOPSIS:
Julie finally gets an interview for a job where she can raise her children better, only to run into a national transit strike.
Overworked separated mom Julie Roy’s (a brilliant live-wire performance from Laure Calamy) life is made more difficult in Full Time by a Parisian transit strike. Living in the suburbs, she arises early in the morning, rushing through her routine (appropriately cut together haphazardly reflecting the hustle) and getting her two children ready to be dropped off by nanny Lusigny (Geneviève Mnich, also turning in a believably fried performance), who is also being pushed beyond her breaking point as the result of challenging communes causing Julie to return home later and later. It’s the everyday restlessness of a working single mother translated into the language of a riveting thriller.
In Paris, Julie works as a chambermaid for a five-star hotel, where her skill and professionalism shine through, aided by the riveting direction that lends thriller sensibilities to Julie’s frantic days and hurried nature cleaning up rooms before VIPs arrive. For writer and director Eric Gravel, much has gone into getting the specifics of the chaotic work right as much as the stressed, frenzied running around of Julie’s days. The segments are so well-constructed and tense in their own right it would have been nice to see more; there’s a case to be made about basing an entire movie on that environment.
Judging by Julie’s rundown tiredness and the reality that none of this is fair on the nanny either, who insists that these long days can’t go on if she is to remain a babysitter, this is unsustainable. And her ex-husband sure is taking his sweet time paying the alimony. A local supermarket job is recommended, but Julie has no interest in that. She’s a mother, first and foremost, but she also wants to pursue work that she’s passionate about. Following applying for numerous jobs, Julie does hear back about a marketing job in Paris that would solve many of her problems. The only obstacle is that attending the interviews requires her to not only duck out of work but further rely on public transportation, which is becoming nonexistent by the second.
There’s also the fact that as more trains and buses shut down, and Julie becomes later to work in subsequent days, some of her coworkers are somewhat turned against her. This is especially apparent when Julie tries searching for someone to cover her workload when she has to leave for the job interview. If Full Time is an intense reminder of how often people potentially take public transportation for granted, it’s also an accurate and grounded of how people begin to point fingers at one another in the face of escalating struggle and uncertainty.
In the case of nanny Lusigny, it’s not that she doesn’t want to help out Julie, but that everyone has to prioritize their sanity and mental health even when looking out for one another. The film is filled with anxiety-inducing sequences while also containing smaller, touching ones assuring us that, as mad as the circumstances of the world drive them, they care about the person struggling next to them.
At the surface level, the premise provides Eric Gravel ample opportunity to provide Julie with several tough choices, building suspense and allowing viewers to invest further in her life. Even when she makes choices that could be perceived as morally questionable, there’s a determined, well-meaning goodness in her that ensures we want things to turn out the best for her. Throw in subtle moments like a backfired gesture to a kid’s father during her son’s birthday party, adding to the layered character on display.
Full Time is compelling across every time-crunching, jam-packed, stressful day as we await a chance to breathe a sigh of relief alongside Julie. The ending is a bit too tidy, and there’s an eagerness to know more about the strike, but the undeniably electrifying performance from Laure Calamy provides a spark to each hectic moment.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
Originally published February 3, 2023. Updated February 2, 2023.
