Struggling to overcome both a nervous breakdown and alcoholism, an unemployed ex-accountant longs for a new job. He also longs for the good things this job could bring him, such as money, structure and purpose. When an employer shows up out of the blue, it seems as though his prayers were answered. The poor man will soon discover he has strayed into a jungle...
"La mécanique de l'ombre" is a thriller/spy movie. But it is not a spy movie in the escapist James Bond tradition ; there are no spectacular action scenes involving submarines or space rockets, no picturesque pursuits through North-African souks and no silk-clad beauties gambling in casinos. "La mécanique" is set in a drab but dangerous twilight world where men with grey hair and grey suits lie and kill and eavesdrop. Here, despicable plots are hatched and unspeakable secrets are hoarded - often in the name of national interest - for reasons that would baffle most normal citizens. There is no clear delineation between private entrepreneur and public official, just as there is no clear delineation between colleague and rival or between savior and tormentor.
Much of the success of the movie derives from its central premise, to wit an unsuspecting everyman caught up in ever more terrible events, like some factory worker getting dragged into a machine. The plot twists and turns like an eel, the tone is coolly sombre and the screen drips with angst.
The performances are good but it's a pity that some of the characters feel underdeveloped, such as the foreign woman struggling with alcoholism. A bit more effort might have created quite an interesting character here. The final five minutes too could have used some extra work and polish, but let's not nitpick from here to eternity...
"La mécanique de l'ombre" is a thriller/spy movie. But it is not a spy movie in the escapist James Bond tradition ; there are no spectacular action scenes involving submarines or space rockets, no picturesque pursuits through North-African souks and no silk-clad beauties gambling in casinos. "La mécanique" is set in a drab but dangerous twilight world where men with grey hair and grey suits lie and kill and eavesdrop. Here, despicable plots are hatched and unspeakable secrets are hoarded - often in the name of national interest - for reasons that would baffle most normal citizens. There is no clear delineation between private entrepreneur and public official, just as there is no clear delineation between colleague and rival or between savior and tormentor.
Much of the success of the movie derives from its central premise, to wit an unsuspecting everyman caught up in ever more terrible events, like some factory worker getting dragged into a machine. The plot twists and turns like an eel, the tone is coolly sombre and the screen drips with angst.
The performances are good but it's a pity that some of the characters feel underdeveloped, such as the foreign woman struggling with alcoholism. A bit more effort might have created quite an interesting character here. The final five minutes too could have used some extra work and polish, but let's not nitpick from here to eternity...