I found myself growing more and more frustrated and detached as Vincent became more and more abhorrent.
Time Out (2002)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:82
Fresh:79
Rotten:3
Average Rating:8/10
Consensus: A haunting psychological drama, Time Out takes a penetrating look at the angst of the modern worker.
Runtime: 2 hrs 14 mins
Genre: Foreign Films
Theatrical Release:Mar 29, 2002 Limited
Synopsis: Vincent (Aurelien Recoing) spends a lot of time in his car. He sleeps in his car sometimes, parked in highway truck stops where buses full of school children pass through during the daytime, and at... Vincent (Aurelien Recoing) spends a lot of time in his car. He sleeps in his car sometimes, parked in highway truck stops where buses full of school children pass through during the daytime, and at night stragglers lost en route stop to drink and tell their stories. Having been fired from his job over a month ago, he is a man running from the truth. Unable to admit his unemployed status to his family, he goes to great lengths to convince his wife and three young children that he spends busy days hard at work. He makes phone calls home talking of meetings and appointments, then returns home complaining of fatigue from being overworked. In fact, he drives around a lot, meanders in and out of office buildings, picks up pieces of information and pages through vague research that does not seem to be part of any cohesive goal or plan. The menacing part of it all is that the closer we get to Vincent, the more he seems to convince himself, and us, that he's telling the truth. And the resulting psychological trickery is positively creepy. This French mystery from director Laurent Cantet (HUMAN RESOURCES) carries an eerie chill that seems inexplicable. While the story seems simple enough, Vincent's lies and the way that he manipulates people--especially his family--are expertly conveyed with cold, steady camerawork and a beguiling performance from Recoing. [More]
Starring: Aurelien Recoing, Karin Viard, Serge Livrozet, Jean-Pierre Mangeot
Starring: Aurelien Recoing, Karin Viard, Serge Livrozet, Jean-Pierre Mangeot, Nicolas Kalsch
Director: Laurent Cantet
Director: Laurent Cantet
Screenwriter: Robin Campillo, Laurent Cantet
Producer: Caroline Benjo
Composer: Jocelyn Pook
Studio: ThinkFilm
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Release:
Jan 14, 2003
Reviews for Time Out
Cantet perfectly captures the hotel lobbies, two-lane highways, and roadside cafes that permeate Vincent's days
...a quietly introspective portrait of the self-esteem of employment and the shame of losing a job...
The film is darkly funny in its observation of just how much more grueling and time-consuming the illusion of work is than actual work.
In its treatment of the dehumanizing and ego-destroying process of unemployment, Time Out offers an exploration that is more accurate than anything I have seen in an American film.
Here's a sleepy little treasure folks! Veteran French stage actor, Aurélien Recoing, looms in the film. He is at once foreboding and inviting.
Time Out is as serious as a pink slip. And more than that, it's an observant, unfussily poetic meditation about identity and alienation.
Conveys the soul-shattering debilitations of unemployment and the spunk needed to survive while adrift in the universe.
a confident, richly acted, emotionally devastating piece of work and 2002's first great film
From a deceptively simple premise, this deeply moving French drama develops a startling story that works both as a detailed personal portrait and as a rather frightening examination of modern times.
An intelligent and sobering look at a person's self worth, and the measures he or she will take to restore it.
I admire the closing scenes of the film, which seem to ask whether our civilization offers a cure for Vincent's complaint.
It's a subtle mood piece in which a man's collapse is examined so rigorously that one almost hopes for a murder to come along and break the tension.
Full of bland hotels, highways, parking lots, with some glimpses of nature and family warmth, Time Out is a discreet moan of despair about entrapment in the maze of modern life.
Beautifully shot against the frozen winter landscapes of Grenoble and Geneva, the film unfolds with all the mounting tension of an expert thriller, until the tragedy beneath it all gradually reveals itself.
A hard look at one man's occupational angst and its subsequent reinvention, a terrifying study of bourgeois desperation worthy of Claude Chabrol.
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 66% 66% | Public Enemies |
| 83% 83% | Harry Potter and the H… |
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| 75% 75% | Julie & Julia |
| 32% 32% | Terminator Salvation |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 90% 90% | District 9 |
| 86% 86% | 500 Days of Summer |
| 63% 63% | Extract |
| 06% 06% | All About Steve |
| 78% 78% | It Might Get Loud |
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