NOTHING PERSONAL (RIEN DE PERSONNEL) On DemandOctober 06, 2010
Eurocinema On Demand
On Demand Weekly provides new movie reviews of movies on demand from the POV of watching from the comfort of your home. Today’s review: Eurocinema On Demand's NOTHING PERSONAL (RIEN DE PERSONNEL) from France.
Email Amy Slotnick
On a cold, rainy night, a pharmaceutical company in France throws a gala for its employees at a local museum. As the company’s staff mingles and sips champagne, rumors begin to circulate that the company is being acquired and layoffs are imminent. People’s true colors emerge when they start to panic and anticipate a survival of the fittest.
Told in three parts, each with a Rashomon-like shift in perspective, we ultimately find out that this rumor is part of a game planned by the boss. Apparently the corporation has hired actors to attend the party, in order to test their employees and get them to reveal their anxieties.
Why the company feels compelled to do this is never made clear, but that is not the point. The main action is watching the company’s staff squirm as they are played by their bosses.
Though the story itself is not overly complex, and the observations about big corporations is nothing new, it is the telling of it that is more intricate. Gradually the gimmick of telling the same story from three points of view settles. Some last minute twists in the story pay off, making the third part the strongest.
Though the comedy is somewhat dry, if you have an interest in French filmmaking, NOTHING PERSONAL (RIEN DE PERSONNEL), a first feature from Mathias Gokalp and selection at Cannes Critics’ Week, is respectable, with strong performances.
Amy Slotnick is a contributor to On Demand Weekly. She works as an independent producer and freelance consultant to film financing start-ups. Previously she was a Senior VP of Production at Miramax Films.
NOTHING PERSONAL (RIEN DE PERSONNEL) is Available via Eurocinema On Demand until 12/31/10
Eurocinema On Demand is available on Time Warner, Charter, Cablevision, RCN, Verizon,and Comcast On Demand (Washington, DC and Philadelphia).
See the NOTHING PERSONAL (RIEN DE PERSONNEL) trailer here:
