DVD Review: Time Out (B+)

Time Out (2001)
Directed by Laurent Cantet
Starring Aurelien Recoing, Karin Viard and Serge Livrozet
MPAA: PG-13
Grade: B+

Review by Scott Standish

Vincent lives in a bizarre world of denial since being fired from his financial consulting gig. He tells his family that he has a job in Switzerland and spends most of his time working to create the illusion that he is still employed. He goes to imaginary meetings, spending hours on end in office building lobbies, until security guards toss him out.

Vincent is not really upset, he's just going along with the motions. At the same time, he does not want to appear a failure to his friends and family. In order to keep up the illusion of success, he comes up with imaginary investment funds and starts defrauding the very same people that he is trying to impress.

Like the title suggests, Time Out is really about the track that corporate players need to run on in order to be successful. Companies invest little in the personal happiness of their employees, and when Vincent is let go, he doesn't really have any sense of who he is outside of the job environment. He is an empty shell of a person, despite all of the trappings (fancy cars, beautiful house, etc.) of a successful businessman.

Aurelien Recoing is very good in the role of Vincent, adeptly switching between light frustration and zombie-like business acumen. Time Out was nominated for Best Foreign Film at the 2003 Independent Spirit Awards. An excellent examination of the personal sacrifices that people make in order to succeed in business, this one is a winner.

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