À l'origine (2009)
Directed by Xavier Giannoli

Film Review

Director Xavier Giannoli's fourth film, À l'origine, is his most ambitious work to date, an arresting social thriller which combines the raw visual power of an epic western with the subtle intimacy of his previous romantic dramas, Une aventure (2005) and Quand j'étais chanteur (2006).  With this powerful study of human frailty, which also serves as a metaphor for the failings of our socio-economic system, Giannoli leaves us in no doubt that he is one of the most perceptive and talented auteur filmmakers working in France today.

Here, François Cluzet plays a con artist who sets out to make a quick buck by restarting an aborted road construction project.  When he realises what the new road means to the local community, and having fallen for the town's mayor (Emmanuelle Devos), this swindler has a Damascene conversion.  Instead of absconding with the money, he does the decent thing and oversees the road's construction.  Incredible as it may seem, this far-fetched scenario was not lifted from a Frank Capra film but from a real-life incident, which took place in Northern France about a decade ago.

Partly inspired by Kipling's The Man Who Would Be King, Giannoli crafts a compelling and intensely moving portrait of a man who discovers his true identity by pretending to be something he is not.  There is a superb irony in the fact that a conman finds his redemption by perpetrating the greatest swindle of his career, and in doing so sets out to a achieve an immense social good.  In the course of witnessing this breathtaking subterfruge, the spectator is given pause to reflect on the extent to which the whole Western socio-economic system is underpinned by lies. If one man can get a stretch of motorway built on a lie, just imagine what a government composed of seasoned politicians might be able to get away with.

With its muted palette of greys and blues, understated but powerfully expressive mise-en-scène and bleak industrial setting, À l'origine has a cold near-documentary realism about it which renders its story particularly meaningful and humane.  In one of the most challenging roles of his career, François Cluzet is harrowingly convincing as a complex individual who is miraculously redeemed by love and compassion for others, whilst Emmanuelle Devos is simply stunning as the woman who helps Cluzet's character to find his soul.  These star turns are superbly complemented by some authentic supporting contributions (notably from Brice Fournier, Vincent Rottiers and Roch Leibovici).  With its gripping performances, compelling story and stark visual poetry, À l'origine is a powerful odyssey of love and redemption, one of the most striking French films in recent years.

Film Synopsis

Ex-convict Philippe Miller makes his living as a confidence trickster, something he is particularly adept at.  Seeing an abandoned road works, he sees an opportunity to make some easy money.  The road would have benefited the region but the environmentalists got the upper hand and halted its construction to protect a rare colony of beetle in the area.  Nothing is easier for Philippe than to hire some construction workers and resume work on the road.  Posing as the site foreman, he finds he has the support of the local community and its mayor behind him.  For a while, Philippe makes a success of the venture, but gradually the scale of the undertaking begins to overwhelm him...