Nettoyage a sec (Dry Cleaning) : a good choice of film title for starters. The initial image created by such a title is one of cleanliness, order and routine. In light of the closing scene though, a double-entendre can be detected : Nicole and Jean-Marie will certainly have their work cut out for them cleaning blood from their clothes and from their hands ...
The well-paced plot allows for good character development, and Berhing, Miou-Miou and Merhar do it fantastically.
The middle-aged couple, who have reached a stagnated period in their relationship, seek new direction. Nicole is bored and uninspired, she wants a change from the monotony of running the shop. Jean-Marie is "a very uptight man" according to Marilyn, Loic's sister. His homosexual awakening is a great personal struggle for him, his self-doubt beginning in the hotel scene when Loic is so rude to him.
The couple's major flaw is an inability for their own introspection and thus for the damage they can cause. The repercussions of their ignorance become dangerous because they allow themselves "to be driven, not necessarily by a fault of their own, to a point of no return" (-Anne Fontaine, director).
From the moment that Loic and Marilyn meet Nicole and Jean-Marie, they take full advantage of the latter's uncertainty, both materially and sexually. Loic is not an evil spirit who planned all along to sew disorder. He is an intuitive and laid-back character whose pitiful situation - no family background and therefore no direction in his life - lead him to great negativity, and on the surface he presents a cold and uncaring personality. He is independent and self-centred because, apart from his sister, whom he protects aggressively, he has never had to look after anyone but himself.
In terms of the film's characterisation, the only real fault i noticed was an absence of relationship between Nicole and her son Pierre. They share only one affectionate exchange throughout the whole film; the boy's role has little (if any) importance at all.
The final shot of the film : having disposed of Loic in the laundry shoot, we see the couple walking together into the dusk. For the first time, Jean-Marie has an apparent expression of liberation on his face. If their relationship with Loic has brought them closer as a couple, we could conclude that their uncontrolled downward slide into such a dark, frightening world was not altogether futile.
The well-paced plot allows for good character development, and Berhing, Miou-Miou and Merhar do it fantastically.
The middle-aged couple, who have reached a stagnated period in their relationship, seek new direction. Nicole is bored and uninspired, she wants a change from the monotony of running the shop. Jean-Marie is "a very uptight man" according to Marilyn, Loic's sister. His homosexual awakening is a great personal struggle for him, his self-doubt beginning in the hotel scene when Loic is so rude to him.
The couple's major flaw is an inability for their own introspection and thus for the damage they can cause. The repercussions of their ignorance become dangerous because they allow themselves "to be driven, not necessarily by a fault of their own, to a point of no return" (-Anne Fontaine, director).
From the moment that Loic and Marilyn meet Nicole and Jean-Marie, they take full advantage of the latter's uncertainty, both materially and sexually. Loic is not an evil spirit who planned all along to sew disorder. He is an intuitive and laid-back character whose pitiful situation - no family background and therefore no direction in his life - lead him to great negativity, and on the surface he presents a cold and uncaring personality. He is independent and self-centred because, apart from his sister, whom he protects aggressively, he has never had to look after anyone but himself.
In terms of the film's characterisation, the only real fault i noticed was an absence of relationship between Nicole and her son Pierre. They share only one affectionate exchange throughout the whole film; the boy's role has little (if any) importance at all.
The final shot of the film : having disposed of Loic in the laundry shoot, we see the couple walking together into the dusk. For the first time, Jean-Marie has an apparent expression of liberation on his face. If their relationship with Loic has brought them closer as a couple, we could conclude that their uncontrolled downward slide into such a dark, frightening world was not altogether futile.