Full Time

Full Time (2021) is a French drama film directed by Éric Gravel and starring Laure Calamy. The film follows Julie, a single mother who works multiple jobs to make ends meet. When a national transit strike disrupts her daily routine, Julie is forced to make difficult choices about her work and family life. The film is a tightly-paced character study that offers a realistic and unflinching look at the challenges faced by working mothers. Julie is a sympathetic and relatable protagonist, and Calamy gives a tour-de-force performance. The film's supporting cast is also excellent, with standout performances from Anne Suarez and Olivia Côte. Gravel's direction is assured and confident. He uses long takes and handheld camerawork to create a sense of urgency and immediacy. The film's cinematography is also impressive, capturing the beauty of Paris while also highlighting the city's harsh realities. Full Time is a powerful and timely film that is sure to resonate with anyone who has ever struggled to balance work and family life. It is a must-see for fans of social realism and female-driven cinema. Here are some of the things that critics have said about the film: "A gripping and suspenseful film that will stay with you long after the credits have rolled." - The Guardian "A powerful and moving film that offers a rare glimpse into the lives of working mothers." - The New York Times "A must-see for anyone who has ever felt the pressure of juggling work and family." - Variety If you're looking for a film that will challenge you, move you, and stay with you long after you've seen it, then I highly recommend Full Time.

I can't pretend to relate to the protagonist's trials-- I've never been under that kind of pressure. The film makes you wonder what so-called equal rights has meant for many women. Nothing very good, I'm afraid. I also never understand why so many workers in France who don't work in the public sector are often sympathetic to the constant strikes -- especially those of railway workers who seem unusually truculent, overpaid, and underworked. I am also not sure if companies are quite as unsympathetic to their workers during these strikes as the movie makes them out to be. At any rate, the movie is appealing and definitely a pleasurable way to spend an hour and a half.

I've been waiting for this movie to become available to stream in the UK. An entirely relatable story that could be told many times anywhere. A divorced woman's Sisyphean struggle to work, take care of her children, deal with an errant ex-husband - all under circumstances completely out of her control. An opportunity to change things results in frantic efforts to change her life. The ending is an unexpected masterpiece. In the meantime there are people who do their best but the system is unforgiving. You are fixated rooting for this woman. I defy anyone to not take a few deep breaths at the end of this film.

There's not a single false note in this brilliantly edited film that portrays (with warmth but not phony sentimentality) the stresses associated with being a single parent trying to balance the demands of motherhood while earning a decent living. The acting is top caliber, the direction and cinematography similarly so, and the pulsating musical score reinforces and heightens the dramatic tension and manages to create quite a bit of suspense in what is essentially a family drama. This is film-making where everyone involved is operating at the height of his or her craft. Very gratifying! Check it out.