'The Measure of a Man' is the powerful story of the quiet desperation of the economically dispossessed

( Unrated ) ( Monitor Movie Guide )

'Man' actor Vincent Lindon portrays Thierry, a security guard at a big-box supermarket who has to collar shoplifters who are mostly in the same dire economic straits he only recently escaped. 

|
Courtesy of Kino Lorber
Vincent Lindon as Thierry Taugourdeau in ‘The Measure of a Man.’

In Stéphane Brizé’s powerful “The Measure of a Man,” Vincent Lindon plays Thierry, a laid-off, 50-something factory worker scrounging for employment. We witness his humiliating job interviews – one in particular, with a callous recruiter via Skype, makes the skin crawl. He finally finds work as a security guard at a big-box supermarket, where he has to collar shoplifters who are mostly in the same dire economic straits he only recently escaped. 

With the exception of Lindon (a Cannes Best Actor), Brizé fills out the cast mostly with nonactors, filming many of the scenes, especially in the supermarket, in a semidocumentary style that carries the sharp tang of real experience. It’s a movie about the economically dispossessed and their quiet (and not-so-quiet) desperation. Lindon expresses the turmoil of a strong man forced to subsume his pride for a paycheck. Away from the job, with his caring wife and disabled son whom he adores, Thierry can be himself. There’s a wonderfully funny scene in which he attends a dance class with his wife and, to Thierry’s annoyance, the instructor cuts in on the marital frolics. 

Without such moments, or the scene in which Thierry angrily turns down a low-ball offer from a couple to buy his mobile vacation home, he might seem too closed off to us. But it’s Lindon’s achievement that, even when Thierry is at his most impassive, we always know what is going on inside his head. On the job, he may seem blank, but he’s torn in two. Grade: B+ (This film is not rated.)

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to 'The Measure of a Man' is the powerful story of the quiet desperation of the economically dispossessed
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Movies/2016/0520/The-Measure-of-a-Man-is-the-powerful-story-of-the-quiet-desperation-of-the-economically-dispossessed
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe