La raison du plus faible

Or a social drama, or social crime movie, but one thing sure, it is definitely a social feature, some kind of Ken Loach oriented film. A story about unemployement, despair, precariousness, an accurate analysis of the social collapse of ordinary people, workers in gigantic factory who dream of a better life. Dialogues are sharp, powerful, chiseled as diamonds and contributes to make this topic even more convincing. It also may be painful to watch for people whose financial, social condition is close to the characters in the film. Lucas Belvaux the director, plays in this film, but as I have already said, Lucas Belvaux in not convincing in his roles when he speaks. He is not convincing at all. He has a presence as an actor, yes, he is a very efficient, convincing director, speaking of daring, interesting schemes, topics, I never miss any of his movies; but when he speaks, sorry, I have seen amateur actors playing better than him. This is not a caper, heist film, it is not question here og hoodlums, but poor blue collars dudes trying to make it in their gloomy, hopeless life.

Imagine Michael Mann's 'Heat' crossed with Ken Loach's gritty northern England- and Scotland based social dramas, and you have an idea of what this film feels like - a heist film with thoroughly uncool, long-term dole recipients and other downtrodden working class folk as the perpetrators, instead of Robert DeNiro in post-modern Californian seafront diggings dashing from holdup to holdup... Lucas Belvaux brings together the disparate elements of the heist film and the anti-globalisation social commentary in fine style, though, and the story thoroughly engaged me. The elegiac, minimal soundtrack was perfectly deployed as well. Mr. Belvaux plays the hangdog career criminal better than almost anyone else, and no one plays quiet domestic desperation as well as Natacha Regnier, either... highly recommended!

I first had some difficulties to watch this movie, because I found that some actors where not really well directed (Lucas Belvaux for example), saying there text "falsely". But I must admit that it is just because I'm not used to a realistic way of acting, but after a few minutes, I slowly got into it....to find that the actors were really fantastic, reminding me of this time when every characters in a movie had a strong personality, like the old french movies. Afterwhile, I found that the photo was more than good, and the filming well done. I am still surprised that some talented people like Lucas Belvaux and his crew can bring you to a rendez-vous with humanity in its most meaningful sense: in this movie you will not only find a social view of our time, but also real friendship, love, and sincerity. Finally, Lucas Belvaux has really succeeded in showing a tragic part of the human condition, but also to mingle it with humor and tenderness. A masterpiece.

3 unemployed men with bleak futures decide to try a robbery to turn their lives around.

The film is beautifully photographed, and has a gritty sense of realism and dark sense of humor, along with a deliberate pace some may find off-putting.

This isn't a heist film about action, but rather about hopelessness, poverty, and moral choices. It isn't afraid to let us feel ambiguity at what the men are doing, at the same time creating characters that can't help but elicit our sympathy, and make us wonder, "at what point does society create its own criminals"?

There are some weak spots – the men are almost too perfect a cross section of the down-and out; the young man whose schooling and hard work have left him nowhere, the unwanted man in a wheelchair and the middle aged man phased out for someone younger. I'm not quite sure I buy them as friends in the first place, but once I accepted that slight contrivance, the film worked well on all it's levels; character study, political tract and crime thriller.

It reminded me of something Sidney Lumet might have made in the 1970s. For my taste, that's a good thing.

"La raison du plus faible" from Lucas Belvaux is a story about 4 men, 1 woman and a kid. This is a story about friendship, a story that opposes decency and adversity, bitterness and boredom…

The movie could be depicted as a "social" thriller if not a socialistic one that has the merit to dig up questions buried away by our sometimes inhuman society. What would you do if you had no perspective, no money and only dreams to be shattered? What would you do if the system was not allowing the possibility of a better life for some or redemption for others? What would you do if your more and more precarious life was being pushed that close to the edge? Would you react or would you fall? "La raison du plus faible" provides us with an answer by telling the story of these men who will believe again that a dream is feasible and who will take arms to get the money where it is and steal it because they believe this is their rights. This is also a story about choices where everybody takes his own responsibility; a story where there are no bad guys but no good ones, a terrible story made of laugh, tears, blood and sorrow….

Slow at times but served with an outstanding cast and a cinematography perfectly matching the protagonists lack of escape , "La raison du plus faible" remains a movie to be seen… A movie that seems to whisper: "continue to dream or die"