Comedy of Power: Huppert Shines in Whistleblower Expose from Salomé
Making a rare appearance in a ‘based on a true story’ film, Isabelle Huppert elevates a character study in whistle-blowing with La syndicaliste (The Sitting Duck), a reunion with her Mama Weed (2020) director Jean-Paul Salomé. It’s also rather an anomaly for the consummately bustling actor in how she’s somewhat cast against type as a resilient but fragile personality.
Based on the 2019 publication from investigative journalist Caroline Michel-Aguirre, corruption, violence, and political intrigue swirl maliciously in this tale of blatant misogyny following the sexual assault against a woman whose position allowed her access to the president, ultimately forced to clear her own name against charges of filing a false report.…...
Making a rare appearance in a ‘based on a true story’ film, Isabelle Huppert elevates a character study in whistle-blowing with La syndicaliste (The Sitting Duck), a reunion with her Mama Weed (2020) director Jean-Paul Salomé. It’s also rather an anomaly for the consummately bustling actor in how she’s somewhat cast against type as a resilient but fragile personality.
Based on the 2019 publication from investigative journalist Caroline Michel-Aguirre, corruption, violence, and political intrigue swirl maliciously in this tale of blatant misogyny following the sexual assault against a woman whose position allowed her access to the president, ultimately forced to clear her own name against charges of filing a false report.…...
- 11/27/2023
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
As a female union rep in the oppressively male-dominated French nuclear industry, Maureen Kearney — the real-life heroine of Jean-Paul Salomé’s “La Syndicaliste” (“The Sitting Duck” in the U.K.) — is accustomed to keeping a cool head in a crisis. That doesn’t stop her male superiors from accusing her of the opposite, with then-President Nicolas Sarkozy allegedly branding her a “hysteric in a skirt”: In this men’s club, a woman’s mere presence is deemed her weakness. Yet when Kearney is raped and mutilated by unknown assailants, seemingly as a professional warning, it’s her lack of hysteria under the circumstances that is declared suspicious by men in power. As she’s first disbelieved, then charged without outright fabrication, Salomé’s film pivots from itchy whistleblower thriller to irate courtroom drama, with institutional misogyny as its binding thread.
A rape survivor criticized for her composure: sounds like an assignment for Isabelle Huppert,...
A rape survivor criticized for her composure: sounds like an assignment for Isabelle Huppert,...
- 7/24/2023
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
French film about real-life trade union whistleblower and rape survivor Maureen Kearney, accused of inventing her assault
‘My name is Maureen Kearney. I didn’t lie. I didn’t make anything up.” This French drama about a blood-boiling real-life case of injustice is the story of whistleblower and rape survivor Maureen Kearney, who for four years lived with a criminal record: falsely convicted of wasting police time, accused of inventing her rape. It’s a political thriller that tells the story matter-of-factly, and is perhaps a little lacking in the pace department. But Isabelle Huppert carries it along with a performance every bit as gripping as you’d expect..
Adapted from a book by investigative journalist Caroline Michel-Aguirre, this is a film of two halves, beginning with the whistleblowing. It’s 2011, and Kearney is a powerful trade union official, going into battle for the 50,000 staff at French nuclear engineering giant...
‘My name is Maureen Kearney. I didn’t lie. I didn’t make anything up.” This French drama about a blood-boiling real-life case of injustice is the story of whistleblower and rape survivor Maureen Kearney, who for four years lived with a criminal record: falsely convicted of wasting police time, accused of inventing her rape. It’s a political thriller that tells the story matter-of-factly, and is perhaps a little lacking in the pace department. But Isabelle Huppert carries it along with a performance every bit as gripping as you’d expect..
Adapted from a book by investigative journalist Caroline Michel-Aguirre, this is a film of two halves, beginning with the whistleblowing. It’s 2011, and Kearney is a powerful trade union official, going into battle for the 50,000 staff at French nuclear engineering giant...
- 6/28/2023
- by Cath Clarke
- The Guardian - Film News
What makes Jean-Paul Salomé’s “paranoid” thriller particularly engrossing is the way it tackles multiple themes - the nature of women in the workplace, the environment, political manipulation, union power - while never losing sight of the nail-biting suspense along the way.
Sustained by a bravura performance from Isabelle Huppert in a total change of register from her last comedic outing with the same director Mama Weed, the new collaboration never puts a frame out of place. It is based on a true story, first tackled in a book by the journalist Caroline Michel-Aguirre.
With new blonde chignon hair style and spectacles that almost become a character in their own right, Huppert plays Irish woman Maureen Kearney, who has lived in France since she arrived in her twenties on a teaching assignment. She’s now the head union representative of a multinational nuclear conglomerate who has no hesitation in denouncing top secret deals in.
Sustained by a bravura performance from Isabelle Huppert in a total change of register from her last comedic outing with the same director Mama Weed, the new collaboration never puts a frame out of place. It is based on a true story, first tackled in a book by the journalist Caroline Michel-Aguirre.
With new blonde chignon hair style and spectacles that almost become a character in their own right, Huppert plays Irish woman Maureen Kearney, who has lived in France since she arrived in her twenties on a teaching assignment. She’s now the head union representative of a multinational nuclear conglomerate who has no hesitation in denouncing top secret deals in.
- 5/11/2023
- by Richard Mowe
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Kino Lorber has bought U.S. rights to Jean-Paul Salomé’s true life thriller “The Sitting Duck,” starring Isabelle Huppert as the French union organizer and whistleblower Maureen Kearney.
Represented in international markets by The Bureau Sales, “The Sitting Duck” world premiered at Venice where it won the Premio Fondazione Fai Persona Lavoro Ambiente Prize. The film will open theatrically in France in March, and Kino Lorber is planning a U.S. theatrical release later this year, followed by a digital and home video release on all major platforms.
“The Sitting Duck” has now been sold around the world. The Bureau Sales has closed deals for Canada (Axia Films Inc.), UK (Modern Films), Germany/Austria (Weltkino Filmverleih Gmbh), Italy (I Wonder Pictures), France (Le Pacte), Spain (Wanda Vision S.A.), Benelux (September Film), Switzerland (Filmcoopi Zurich Ag), Greece (Cinobo), Portugal, Bulgaria (Beta Film Ltd.), Hungary (Ads Service Ltd.), Romania (Transilvania Film), Israel (Forum Film Ltd.
Represented in international markets by The Bureau Sales, “The Sitting Duck” world premiered at Venice where it won the Premio Fondazione Fai Persona Lavoro Ambiente Prize. The film will open theatrically in France in March, and Kino Lorber is planning a U.S. theatrical release later this year, followed by a digital and home video release on all major platforms.
“The Sitting Duck” has now been sold around the world. The Bureau Sales has closed deals for Canada (Axia Films Inc.), UK (Modern Films), Germany/Austria (Weltkino Filmverleih Gmbh), Italy (I Wonder Pictures), France (Le Pacte), Spain (Wanda Vision S.A.), Benelux (September Film), Switzerland (Filmcoopi Zurich Ag), Greece (Cinobo), Portugal, Bulgaria (Beta Film Ltd.), Hungary (Ads Service Ltd.), Romania (Transilvania Film), Israel (Forum Film Ltd.
- 2/15/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
The Bureau Sales has scored a raft of deals on “The Sitting Duck,” Jean-Paul Salomé’s thriller based on a true story starring Isabelle Huppert (“Elle”). The movie world premiered at the Venice Film Festival in the Horizons section.
Adapted from Caroline Michel-Aguirre’s book “La Syndicaliste,” “The Sitting Duck” tells the true story of Maureen Kearney (Huppert), the head union representative of a French multinational nuclear powerhouse who becomes a whistleblower, denouncing top-secret deals that shook the French nuclear sector. One day, Kearney is found in her home, tied to a chair, the letter “A” carved into her abdomen, and a knife handle inserted into her vagina.
Traumatized, she has no memory of the assault. However, after an investigation, the police accused her of staging the attack herself.
The Bureau Sales, which is spearheaded by Clementine Hugot, has sold the film to the U.K. (Modern Films), Latin America (Cineplex), Japan (Only Hearts Co.
Adapted from Caroline Michel-Aguirre’s book “La Syndicaliste,” “The Sitting Duck” tells the true story of Maureen Kearney (Huppert), the head union representative of a French multinational nuclear powerhouse who becomes a whistleblower, denouncing top-secret deals that shook the French nuclear sector. One day, Kearney is found in her home, tied to a chair, the letter “A” carved into her abdomen, and a knife handle inserted into her vagina.
Traumatized, she has no memory of the assault. However, after an investigation, the police accused her of staging the attack herself.
The Bureau Sales, which is spearheaded by Clementine Hugot, has sold the film to the U.K. (Modern Films), Latin America (Cineplex), Japan (Only Hearts Co.
- 11/1/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
After taking a break from his filmmaking career to preside over the French film promotion org Unifrance, Jean-Paul Salomé has made a big comeback with a pair of films with Oscar-nominated French actor Isabelle Huppert. The latest one, “The Sitting Duck,” is world premiering at Venice in the Horizons section.
Adapted from Caroline Michel-Aguirre’s book “La Syndicaliste,” “The Sitting Duck” tells the true story of Maureen Kearney, the head union representative of a French multinational nuclear powerhouse who becomes a whistleblower, denouncing top-secret deals that shook the French nuclear sector. One day, Kearney is found in her home, tied to a chair, the letter “A” carved into her abdomen, and a knife handle inserted into her vagina. Traumatized, she has no memory of the assault. However, after an investigation, the police accused her of staging the attack herself.
Penned by Salomé and Fadette Drouard, the film has already been...
Adapted from Caroline Michel-Aguirre’s book “La Syndicaliste,” “The Sitting Duck” tells the true story of Maureen Kearney, the head union representative of a French multinational nuclear powerhouse who becomes a whistleblower, denouncing top-secret deals that shook the French nuclear sector. One day, Kearney is found in her home, tied to a chair, the letter “A” carved into her abdomen, and a knife handle inserted into her vagina. Traumatized, she has no memory of the assault. However, after an investigation, the police accused her of staging the attack herself.
Penned by Salomé and Fadette Drouard, the film has already been...
- 9/3/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Maureen Kearney’s story is unbelievable. It is a story of unbelief, in fact — of denial, cover-ups, corruption and injustice directed at a small woman who was just doing her job. She’s played with an electric stillness by the great Isabelle Huppert in Jean-Paul Salome’s Venice Film Festival Horizons title The Sitting Duck (La Syndicaliste). There are still plenty of people who openly doubt her story, including people on her own side of politics. Perhaps it would be easier all round if it weren’t true.
Kearney was a union officer working within the partly French government-owned energy company Areva, which included a significant nuclear reactor business with projects all over the world. Kearney was no Karen Silkwood; she posed no threat to the concept of nuclear power. She maintains she was targeted when...
Kearney was a union officer working within the partly French government-owned energy company Areva, which included a significant nuclear reactor business with projects all over the world. Kearney was no Karen Silkwood; she posed no threat to the concept of nuclear power. She maintains she was targeted when...
- 9/2/2022
- by Stephanie Bunbury
- Deadline Film + TV
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.