The Measure of A Man (2015) - Stéphane Brizé

Stephane Brize's The Measure of A Man is a simple yet compelling drama centered around Thierry, a 51 year old man living in France, who is struggling to make ends meat.  Being unemployed for the past 20 months, Thierry is desperate to find a new job in order to support his family, a wife and special needs child, facing mounting financial burden in the process.  The opening scene of The Measure of A Man perfectly defines the simple yet effective filmmaking one is about to experience, finding Thierry in an intense conversation with a job training company, infuriated that he spent so much time and money on training with no results to show for it.  Vincent Lindon in this scene and really the entire film is perfectly judged, a performance that is astonishing in its simplicity and subtlety, evoking a great sense of sympathy from the viewer while doing so in a very naturalistic way.  Lindon brings such a quiet sense of sorrow, never overacting at all, though the pressure of providing for his family and the tension from the rate race of looking for a job is felt in his performance. The drama of The Measure of A Man is understated to say the least, but the filmmakers create an overwhelming sense of hopelessness and uncertainty around the character of Thierry, a man who is exhausted from the constant struggle of the job search.  Like the Dardennes, The Measure of A Man is the type of film where some viewers will find too little conflict, but what Stephane Brize creates is a film with a quiet anger centered around a culture that puts business and money over the individual.  The film documents the struggle of Thierry but it also captures the growing disconnect between personal life and professional life, capturing how the relationships that are made in ones professional life are nothing more than a mirage, defined by a company that can instantly sever any relationship through layoffs or firings.  While I'd argue that the film is a tad unfocused from a thematic level, Stephane Brize's The Measure of a Man is a quietly powerful film about a man who is growing increasingly tired of a system that shows little to no regard for people.  ​

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