In this satirical comedy drama from France, white-collar workaholic Paul (Vincent Lindon) and his high-strung wife Helene (Catherine Frot) are driving to a party one evening when a young woman leaps into the path of their car, crying for help. Paul refuses to let her into the car, and soon several men catch up with the woman and begin beating her savagely. Paul insists on staying out of the matter, but Helene feels some sense of responsibility for what happened, and begins spending most of her
time at the hospital where the woman remains unconscious. In time, it's determined that the woman's name is Noémie (Rachida Brakni), she's 22 years old, and works as a prostitute. By this time, Helene has become obsessed with protecting Noémie, and when a strange man (Wojtek Pszoniak) attempts to sign her out of the hospital, claiming he's her uncle, Helene sneaks Noémie out posing as a nurse and takes her to her mother-in-law's country house to recover. Eventually, Noémie is well enough to tell her harrowing story -- she was brought to France from Algeria by her father, along with her sister, and fell into life as a streetwalker shortly after learning that her family had sold her hand in marriage her to a man back in Algeria. Director Coline Serreau shot Chaos using digital video equipment -- and was impressed enough with the experience that she announced she had no interest in shooting on 35 mm film ever again. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
The men, filled with brutality and neglect, make for rather obvious targets, yet we come to care about the women in their lives beyond any agenda Chaos might have.
Coline Serreau's "Chaos" defies categorization. It is an exciting film--part thriller, comedy, revenge tale, and feminist drama, blended together with compelling finesse.
There's a core of anger running throughout Chaos, particularly in the steely performances by its two female leads, that gives this satisfying feminist revenge drama/satire its soul.
"Chaos" starts out with an affluent Parisian couple, Paul(Vincent Lindon) and Helene(Catherine Frot), rushing off to a dinner party.(By the way, their son, Fabrice is a bit of a pig...) They come across Noemie(Rashida Brakni) running towards their car on the street. She is desperately seeking help, but Paul locks
the doors on the car. They watch as she is brutally beaten. Helene wants to call for an ambulance but Paul is much more worried about the blood on the windshield and does not want to be involved. Helene seeks out Noemie in the hospital, who is in a coma. And Helene remains to take care of her... "Chaos" is a smart, unpredictable thriller that never stops. It occasionally takes on a comic tone as it gracefully balances the main plot with the household scenes. The film also has some very important things to say about how women can be taken for granted and how we are all responsible for each other. Unlike "Run Lola Run", this movie contains people who rush around without anything vital being involved. And, of course, cell phones do not bring us any closer...
October 31, 2005
Walter M.
Super Reviewer
Saw it for a French class my freshman year of college. Very violent. It's a gut-wrenching depiction of the selfish men, the better ones who use Helene as a live-in maid, and the worse ones who act as pimps, beating and imprisoning Malika. It shows the slavery in which prostitutes are forced to live. This film
beautifully depicts a friendship that ignites between two strong women.
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