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The family man’s secret is initially kept from us too, though it is never him who lets us in on his embarrassment, that he was fired from his job several months ago, and has yet to signify such to his wife (Karen Viard, unfaltering in the small amount of room given). He still goes through the motions of going to work, pretending he’s switched employment to the UN while he cruises around Switzerland, though he does find a scheme which satisfies his rationale in order to pass the time, a shaky proposition to old friends and acquaintances to invest money into a faux Russian fund. Despite his scam, his intention is never to run off with the money, and his frustrations only grow as word spreads about the investment and he must perpetuate his lie. Eventually he’s spotted as a phony and goes to work for that man selling phony knock-offs of watches, clothes, etc. Though the film gets nowhere near a moment of intensity, Time Out does manage to remain compelling for all of its austerity and simplicity, acknowledging a strong performance by Recoing, whose character’s psychology is only finally revealed near the closing of the film. That Cantet doesn’t get entangled in it earlier, or over-explain it in the course of time, only further complements his restraint as a director and raises his strengths as a writer. Co-written with Robin Campillo; with Serge Livrozet and Nicholas Kalsch.

[Worth-seeing.]

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originally posted: 02/21/04 14:23:49
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