French
France
Nicole, in her fifties and unemployed, is drowning in debt while single-handedly raising her son Serge, who is seeking independence. Morgan Simon's writing is so precise in his second feature film that one can sense the deeply personal nature of the subject for the filmmaker. Valéria Bruni Tedeschi is present in nearly every scene, rendering Nicole both magnificent and universal despite her contradictions, in a film that approaches documentary style, capturing the struggles and questions of those commonly referred to as "the little people" without condescension or judgment. Actor Félix Lefebvre (Été 85) delivers another remarkable performance in this social drama, echoing Delphine Deloget's Rien à perdre.