It could not have come at a better time ,this tale of harassment :harassment has always existed ,but it has almost been a taboo subject.Whatever the race or creed or sexual orientation ,harassment knows no limits ,no sex or class ...Many people have been subject to it , in their schools , barracks, factories or ..offices .
Bank executives are not spared ,particularly when they are getting old and when their boss has a young protegee who has his sights fixed high. The boss is condescending ,and his looks kill: he always use the familiar "Tu " whereas his victim insists he should use the polite "Vous".This nuance,which does not exist in the English language ,is crucial to feel Paul's humiliation.Humiliation leads to despair , rebellion and tragedy .But one individual struggling against the boss can't hope to win when many of his colleagues are resigned to their fate :his so called friend keeps on repeating "what can we do?" and Clarisse,who has just been unfairly fired, does not even want to fight against her employer : more,she despises Paul ,who tries to help him ,because she unconsciously knows that there's no place for an honest man in a place where brother will turn on brother.
The film begins with the ominous notes of Beethoven's Seventh Symphony and is a long flashback ;even if it does not always avoid clichés (the hero's son) , Darroussin makes it all worthwhile, he is one of the best contemporary French actors , as brilliant portraying a fallen executive as playing a generous working-class man in "Les Neiges Du Kilimandjaro"
