Dans la tourmente (2011) Reviews

• To the cave

  jotix1002012-12-19

  We are taken to Marseille, where we watch trucks emerging from a ferry in a convoy. Not having a clue as to what are they supposed to transport, the scene changes to a tool factory. The rumor among the Employees is about the impending closure of the plant. Franck, one of the workers decides to investigate details and he happens to catch a conversation where the owner is talking with another executive who tells him about the plan to get rid of the business, but not yo worry, there are two million Euros in the safe for him. What follows is a thriller with shades of social significance during the tough economic times in France. The factory workers are expendable, so the higher ups think. Franck has another idea. He contacts his co-workers, Henri and Farid to tell them of his plans to rob the money. Both men are reluctant to go along. So Franck turns to Max, a friend who has been in jail and presently is unemployed. Franck insists in not using guns, but Max has other ideas. The plan goes wrong as Max pulls his pistol and kills the owner and a security guard. Franck and Max divide the loot between them. Franck devices a plan to fool his wife Helene, who is not stupid, realizing where the money Franck, supposedly found, really comes from the robbery at the plant. What's more, she wants to turn it to the police. She is a decent woman, after all. Unknown to them, there is a secret document that some of the interests behind the closure of the factory want to retrieve because of its damning content which holds a conspiracy. "Dans La Tormente", written and directed by Christophe Ruggia, was a nice discovery as it was shown on cable recently. It combines a lot of action and intrigue while also showing an interest in the effects the recent economic turn of events affect the working people. It is fast moving with some surprising sequences, especially the last moments of the film as Franck, Max, and Helene go through a chase in the rough landscape next to the coast near Marseille. Best of all is Yvan Attal, who gives an intense performance as Max, the tormented man fighting to get back his life with his wife and son. Clovis Cornillac has done better work before. He has played action roles before, but his Franck is not as convincing as previous work. Mathilde Seigner appears as Helene, a righteous woman, whose integrity is put through a test by Franck. Eric Guichard, the cinematographer, does a fine job for M. Ruggia.

• What a mess...

  searchanddestroy-12012-01-11

  I am very disappointed by this french flick; it's a sort of mix up of social and political thriller that misses what it intended to do. At first, I thought of another french thriller: LA RAISON DU PLUS FAIBLE, a real, hard, terrific film about the social crisis and its awful effects on a handful of convincing characters. In the movie I talk now, Cornillac is not at his peak, as he was in LE NOUVEAU PROTOCOLE, in 2008. Two employees of a giant factory know they will be soon unemployed. The boss of the factory wants to move all the equipment during the weekend, an undercover action. The two leads know that and decide to pull off a heist against a bullion hidden by the head manager in his safe. It's an "offshore" payroll, as you can guess. And as the movie itself, everything collapses for our heroes. Yvan Attal, unlike Cornillac is tremendous, unforgettable as a lost man who has no more anything to lose. Mathilde Seigner is very good too. Unfortunately, there are too many clichés here, and the ending annihilates all the film. What a mess...