Full Time (French: À plein temps) is a 2021 French drama film written and directed by Éric Gravel. The film stars Laure Calamy. The film had its world premiere at the 78th Venice International Film Festival on 2 September 2021.
| Full Time | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| French | À plein temps |
| Directed by | Éric Gravel |
| Screenplay by | Éric Gravel |
| Produced by |
|
| Starring | Laure Calamy |
| Cinematography | Victor Seguin |
| Edited by | Mathilde Van de Moortel |
| Music by | Irène Drésel |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Haut et Court |
Release dates |
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Running time | 88 minutes |
| Country | France |
| Language | French |
| Budget | €2.7 million[1] |
| Box office | $1.9 million[2] |
Plot
editSingle mother Julie works an exhausting job as head maid at a luxury Parisian hotel. Her frenetic daily routine includes commuting from her remote suburb into Paris, tending to her children Nolan and Chloé, and searching for a better job to make use of her university education. Her schedule is further disrupted by an immobilizing transport strike in Paris. The strike causes her to arrive late to work and late to pick up her children from their nanny, Madame Lusigny, and she must hitchhike or pay for expensive taxis while awaiting alimony payments from her ex-husband. On the move for almost every moment of the day, Julie is constantly on the verge of a breakdown. When she finally receives a job interview at a marketing firm, she has to carefully cut corners and ask co-workers to cover for her.
Cast
edit- Laure Calamy as Julie Roy
- Anne Suarez as Sylvie
- Geneviève Mnich as Madame Lusigny
- Nolan Arizmendi as Nolan
- Sasha Lemaitre Cremaschi as Chloé
- Cyril Gueï as Vincent
- Lucie Gallo as Jeanne Delacroix
- Agathe Dronne as Sophie
- Mathilde Weil as Lydia
- Dana Fiaque as Amina
- Olivier Faliez as Paul, le voiturier
- Marème N'Diaye as Inès
- Irina Muluile as Irina
- Aymeline Alix as Claire
- Carima Amarouche as Mireille
Production
editDevelopment
editLaure Calamy and other actresses went through maid service training to prepare for their roles. Calamy underwent a one-day course at Le Bristol Paris hotel to understand the gestures and postures specific to the profession. Through her friend Tiziri Kandi, Calamy was given the opportunity to communicate with exploited chambermaids before filming. Kandi, who is a union leader for the Hôtels de Prestige et Économiques (HPE) division of the General Confederation of Labour (CGT), represented the striking chambermaids of the Ibis Batignolles hotel in Paris. Calamy questioned the striking maids about their physical health concerns, the hellish pace of their work and aspects of their personal lives.[3]
Filming
editThe film was shot in Paris and in the Yonne department, including the communes Collemiers, Sens and Pont-sur-Yonne. Julie's house in the film is located in Collemiers, a commune familiar to the director Éric Gravel, who lives in the Sens area, and whose many residents – like Julie – commute to Paris by train every day for work. The station that appears in the film is that of Gare de Pont-sur-Yonne.[4][5]
Release
editFull Time was selected to be screened in the Orizzonti section at the 78th Venice International Film Festival.[6] It had its world premiere at Venice on 2 September 2021.[7] It was theatrically released in France by Haut et Court on 16 March 2022.[8] Music Box Films has given the film a limited theatrical release in the United States beginning in February 2023.[9][10]
Reception
editBox office
editFull Time grossed $1.5 million in France, $36,305 in the United States and Canada, and $362,661 in other territories for a worldwide total of $1.9 million.[2]
In France, the film opened alongside Notre-Dame on Fire, Alors on danse and Three Times Nothing. The film sold 15,157 admissions on its first day,[11] 4,356 of which were preview screenings.[12] It went on to sell 70,803 admissions in its opening weekend, finishing 8th at the box office.[13] At the end of its theatrical run, the film sold a total of 211,394 admissions.[12]
Critical response
editOn Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 98% based on 61 reviews, with an average rating of 8.1/10. The website's consensus reads, "Led by Laure Calamy's gripping performance, Full Time serves as a sobering reminder that just staying financially afloat can sometimes feel like a white-knuckle thriller."[14] According to Metacritic, which assigned a weighted average score of 83 out of 100 based on 15 critics, the film received "universal acclaim".[15] On AlloCiné, the film received an average rating of 4.0 out of 5 stars, based on 29 reviews from French critics.[16]
Reviewing the film following its Venice premiere, Wendy Ide of Screen Daily wrote, "It's a propulsively intense piece of filmmaking - at times a bit like watching a highwire chainsaw juggling act about to go horribly and catastrophically wrong."[17] The Sydney Morning Herald's Paul Byrnes gave the film 4 out of 5 stars, commending Laure Calamy's performance and praising her "extraordinary ability to project warmth, as well as strength. Her character here is down but never out, no matter how hard life pushes her."[18]
William Repass of Slant Magazine gave Full Time 2.5 out of 4 stars, criticising that the film "doesn't have much to say about organized labor, or labor in general, other than that work can be really stressful."[19]
Accolades
edit| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| César Awards | 24 February 2023 | Best Original Music | Irène Drésel | Won | [20] |
| Best Editing | Mathilde Van de Moortel | Won | |||
| Best Actress | Laure Calamy | Nominated | |||
| Best Original Screenplay | Éric Gravel | Nominated | |||
| Lumières Award | 16 January 2023 | Best Actress | Laure Calamy | Nominated | [21] |
| Best Music | Irène Drésel | Nominated | |||
| Venice Film Festival | 11 September 2021 | Orizzonti Award for Best Director | Éric Gravel | Won | [22] |
| Orizzonti Award for Best Actress | Laure Calamy | Won | |||
| Orizzonti Award for Best Film | Full Time | Nominated | [23] |
References
edit- ^ "À plein temps (Full Time) (2022)". JP Box Office (in French). Retrieved 2 April 2023.
- ^ a b "Full Time (2021)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
- ^ Deshayes, Marie (5 March 2022). "Laure Calamy: "Etre actrice, c'est explorer la nature humaine"". Version Femina (in French). Retrieved 5 February 2023.
- ^ Carton, Cécile (13 October 2020). "Culture - Un nouveau long-métrage est actuellement filmé dans le Sénonais, dont la stratégie d'accueil des tournages paye". www.lyonne.fr (in French). Retrieved 16 March 2022.
- ^ Lévêque, Estelle (16 February 2022). "Loisirs - Éric Gravel, le réalisateur d'À plein temps et Laure Calamy l'actrice principale du film, seront à Sens ce jeudi". www.lyonne.fr (in French). Retrieved 16 March 2022.
- ^ De Marco, Camillo (26 July 2021). "Venice's Orizzonti section confirms its role as an incubator for new film talent". Cineuropa. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
- ^ "À plein temps". La Biennale di Venezia. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
- ^ "Cinéma : À plein temps, le nouveau film d'Eric Gravel, en salles le 16 mars". France Info. 11 March 2022. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
- ^ Erbland, Kate (3 February 2023). "New Movies: Release Calendar for February 3, Plus Where to Watch the Latest Films". IndieWire. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
- ^ "Full Time - International Films - Independent Films". Music Box Films. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
- ^ Colon, Tanguy (17 March 2022). "Box-office 1er jour : Jujutsu Kaisen 0 s'anime en tête". Boxoffice Pro (in French). Retrieved 2 April 2023.
- ^ a b "À plein temps (Full Time) (2022)". JP Box-Office (in French). Retrieved 2 April 2023.
- ^ Colon, Tanguy (21 March 2022). "Box-office week-end : The Batman premier du box-office 2022". Boxoffice Pro (in French). Retrieved 2 April 2023.
- ^ "Full Time". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
- ^ "Full Time". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
- ^ "Critiques Presse pour le film À plein temps". AlloCiné (in French). Retrieved 16 February 2024.
- ^ Ide, Wendy (4 September 2021). "'Full Time': Venice Review". Screen Daily. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
- ^ Byrnes, Paul (27 July 2022). "Hitchcock and a train strike make for a superb French drama". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
- ^ Repass, William (29 January 2023). "Full Time Review: A Woman Races Against the Clock in Eric Gravel's Tense Drama". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
- ^ Roxborough, Scott; Vlessing, Etan (24 February 2023). "César Awards: 'The Night of the 12th' Named Best Picture". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
- ^ "Lumières 2023 : "La Nuit du 12", "Pacifiction", "Saint Omer" et "Les Enfants des autres" en tête des nominations". France Info (in French). 15 December 2022. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
- ^ "Official awards of the 78th Venice Film Festival". www.labiennale.org. 11 September 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
- ^ Pulver, Andrew (26 July 2021). "Kristen Stewart's Princess Diana biopic to screen at Venice film festival". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
