The Measure of a Man

Name: The Measure of a Man
Genre: Drama
Released: April 15, 2016
Duration: 91 min
Rating: 74

2016

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Generally favorable reviews based on 19 Critic Reviews

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Generally favorable reviews based on 13 Ratings

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7.0	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 13 Ratings

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The Measure Of A Man

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Movie Details & Credits

Kino Lorber | Release Date: April 15, 2016 | Not Rated

Summary: At the age of 51 and after 20 months on unemployment, Thierry (Vincent Lindon) starts a new job that soon brings him face to face with a moral dilemma. How much is he willing to accept to keep his job?

Director: Stéphane Brizé

Genre(s): Drama

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 91 min

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Critic Reviews

100

RogerEbert.com Peter Sobczynski

Apr 15, 2016

The Measure of a Man may be a hard film to watch at times, but with Lindon's great performance at its center, it is one from which you cannot look away. Read full review

Farran Smith Nehme

Apr 14, 2016

French director Stéphane Brizé films in lingering takes, with Lindon in almost every shot, and the actor is wonderful, able to convey Thierry’s conflict even when his back is to the camera. Read full review

IndieWire David Ehrlich

Apr 13, 2016

Brizé ("Mademoiselle Chambon") is a humanist, not an economist, and his modest but moving new film is a welcome reminder that — for someone who can't afford to put food on the table or provide a proper education for their child— business is always personal. Read full review

Scott Foundas

May 23, 2015

Brize (“Mademoiselle Chambon”) makes compelling drama out of the most ordinary of circumstances, and draws a lead performance from frequent collaborator Vincent Lindon that is a veritable master class in understated humanism. Read full review

Nathalie Atkinson

Apr 14, 2016

The Measure of a Man is about one of those everyday people who lose their livelihood and are at risk of losing everything else, and on this small scale and rather ordinary canvas the human drama is keenly felt. Read full review

Manohla Dargis

Apr 14, 2016

Mr. Lindon’s physically reserved, inward turn as Thierry (wrinkled brow, downcast eyes) dovetails with Mr. Brizé’s restrained realism. Read full review

The Guardian Jordan Hoffman

Oct 2, 2015

The Measure of a Man’s decision to keep its conflicts so microscopic in the service of realism is a real problem. Put bluntly, Brize’s touch is so light that it’s immeasurable. Read full review

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LeZee

Feb 14, 2017

A tale of the modern day job hunt.

French films are the second most I watched apart from the English language films. It's mainly because of the quality of their products. They won't put big sum on some superhero film like the Hollywood, they give preference to storytelling and theA tale of the modern day job hunt.

French films are the second most I watched apart from the English language films. It's mainly because of the quality of their products. They won't put big sum on some superhero film like the Hollywood, they give preference to storytelling and the characters which I love even in a slow pace narration. Anyway, you would be tired of listening to what I'm going to say that I always love French and Japanese films, mostly the drama films. This is the latest one I saw that I did not think of giving it a try after the average reception, but once I watched I realised how much underrated the film was.

This is like another 'Two Days, One Night', but a bit touch of 'The Pursuit of Happiness' with the limited sentiments. There's no comparison with any other titles, except the similarity in themes. You can call it a docudrama, because it was very realistic that you won't feel like you are watching a film. Especially not for an entertainment purpose. If you are so, then stop there and try other flick. This could resemble your life, at least some way if you ever struggled to get an employment after getting released from the previous job. I am not talking about the freshers or the youngsters, but in between the jobs, mostly the middle-aged and less qualified men's perspective.

The modern world belongs to the young blood. Being somewhat old and not skilled with today's technologies is a big excuse to exclude from the employment world. That leaves to get one from the smaller wages. Such film is this one which focused on the man called Thierry who was looking for any job for the last two years. His family is small with a wife and a handicapped son. Financially struggling Thierry decides to get a loan from the bank and try to sell his mobile home to meet the expenses. Finally, he ends up in a supermarket as a security guard and follows his new way of struggle against the reality of the world where crime and compassion overlap.

"A shoplifter has no age or colour. Everybody is a potential shoplifter."

I was desperately looking for some entertainment to relax after the tired day. I jumped on this, and initially it took time to launch into the main storyline. It begins with Thierry having conversation with his old colleagues about the options and if there is any legal solution for his old job. This is the film where pictures, as well as lines carefully watched and listened respectively to understand the intention of such film to be exist. The every word spoken in the film were not like any other films, but it was like real life dialogues between two or more people that we the audience listening them from somewhere around the corner. That's why I compared it with documentary.

This is the third film for Vincent Lindon with the director and the best one. The last time I saw him was in the 'Bastards' that I did not like. Surely the best of him after 'Welcome'. He won a few best actor awards for his role in this film, including one at the 2015 Cannes. The film was all about him. He as Theirry was the soul of the film. People start to recognise the actors since they saw them in one of their best performances and now I for Vincent Lindon through this film.

Obviously very slow at the beginning, but once you start to feel you know enough about Thierry, it gets more interesting. Particularly the final act was impressive. It points out how narrowly our society was built where you can't escape the disappointment if you are a sensitive person about the actions that entirely depends on the situation whether its good (empathy) or bad (crime). This film is everything. You can call it a self-discovery or truth finder, but well detailed about the modern day job hunt by an average person. Even if he gets one, does it stand up to his moral dimensions? Because some people mind what they are doing, even though getting it after a desperate attempt.

Like I said I saw it in a wrong circumstance, but I did not fail to recognise fineness of it. This is one of the best drama films I have seen, especially in the recent times. If you are looking for a realistic portrayal film, this is the one. It might be an under- noticed film today, but the time will come when people look back on this decade for how the lives and society evolved, then this little precious film will impact greater which depicted exactly what's happening right now. What I meant was some films are not meant for the present, despite all the films are made for the present!!!

8/10… Expand

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nutterjr

Dec 22, 2017

Ethics 101: a subject studied through the empathetic eyes of the protagonist brilliantly portrait by Vincent Lindon who during the moments he says the least, speaks the loudest.

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