This is the second film directed by Xavier Beauvois that I have seen and in both he has excelled in telling the story of ordinary people in normal circumstances and telling it well.
The plot of Selon Matthieu is woven around a revenge tale: a young man's father dies in tragic and perhaps suicidal circumstances. The young man (Matthieu) blames his father's former employer for his father's death, as they had sacked him shortly before his death. To exact revenge the young man plans to seduce the employer's wife because if 'you f/ck the boss's wife, you f/ck the boss'. His seduction works, but with emotional consequences he did not predict and for which he was unprepared.
In telling the tale we, the audience, are introduced to Matthieu and his family; ordinary working class folk living in Le Havre, which is shot as moody and stormy. We also become acquainted with the boss's wife, Claire, and her life. Amidst Matthieu's grief, class differences are explored in subtle, symbolic ways that are very clever. For example as Matthieu's plan of revenge is taking shape he finds his brother watching Cagney in 'White Heat' on TV. The excerpt shown is Cagney telling others about infiltrating something: getting in is the hardest part and Cagney tells the tale of the Trojan Horse. Matthieu makes himself 'Trojan Horse' to penetrate the upper class that is Claire's world.
Matthieu's interior world is conveyed through symbols and the film's themes: He is an accurate shot, making him a formidable and unrelenting enemy. Later he shoots up a car and a rat as his anger and grief explodes. He sings Karaoke to a Charles Azanavour song of a relationship steeped in fate to an audience that includes Claire. His love of his Norman history and the rocky beaches and cliffs around Le Havre tell of the depth and wildness of his feelings.
Claire's world by contrast is shown through gambling, migraines, intellectual conversation and nouvelle cuisine. The latter is a great scene: she and Matthieu are having dinner in a sophisticated and expensive restaurant. When their food arrives it is contemporary nouvelle cuisine and Matthieu remarks that the plate is empty. To which Claire quips "the rich aren't hungry". Such a brilliant line that really highlights the class differences between the two as well as their contrasting characters: Matthieu is raw and 'hungry' making him a good hunter and Claire, more sanguine, easy prey.
Although Matthieu's revenge succeeds it does so at a high cost to him and his family. The film concludes with a somewhat bleak and fatalistic view of class warfare: the upper class being the ultimate winners possessing as they do power and money. However, in the final scene between Matthieu and his brother the film allows some hope that his family's lives will return to the normality they previously enjoyed. A normality rich in feeling that contrasts strongly to the empty emotional world of Claire.
A story that could be dull in its predictability is well crafted and superbly acted. The entire cast is terrific and Benoit Magimel as Matthieu and Nathalie Baye as Claire give fine and convincing performances as the leads. Magimel particularly so as he features in virtually every scene and plays Matthieu as 'still waters that run deep'. Beauvois pays a lot of attention to detail with camera shots that linger and are particularly loving of Le Havre in a moody tale of love, hatred and grief.
The plot of Selon Matthieu is woven around a revenge tale: a young man's father dies in tragic and perhaps suicidal circumstances. The young man (Matthieu) blames his father's former employer for his father's death, as they had sacked him shortly before his death. To exact revenge the young man plans to seduce the employer's wife because if 'you f/ck the boss's wife, you f/ck the boss'. His seduction works, but with emotional consequences he did not predict and for which he was unprepared.
In telling the tale we, the audience, are introduced to Matthieu and his family; ordinary working class folk living in Le Havre, which is shot as moody and stormy. We also become acquainted with the boss's wife, Claire, and her life. Amidst Matthieu's grief, class differences are explored in subtle, symbolic ways that are very clever. For example as Matthieu's plan of revenge is taking shape he finds his brother watching Cagney in 'White Heat' on TV. The excerpt shown is Cagney telling others about infiltrating something: getting in is the hardest part and Cagney tells the tale of the Trojan Horse. Matthieu makes himself 'Trojan Horse' to penetrate the upper class that is Claire's world.
Matthieu's interior world is conveyed through symbols and the film's themes: He is an accurate shot, making him a formidable and unrelenting enemy. Later he shoots up a car and a rat as his anger and grief explodes. He sings Karaoke to a Charles Azanavour song of a relationship steeped in fate to an audience that includes Claire. His love of his Norman history and the rocky beaches and cliffs around Le Havre tell of the depth and wildness of his feelings.
Claire's world by contrast is shown through gambling, migraines, intellectual conversation and nouvelle cuisine. The latter is a great scene: she and Matthieu are having dinner in a sophisticated and expensive restaurant. When their food arrives it is contemporary nouvelle cuisine and Matthieu remarks that the plate is empty. To which Claire quips "the rich aren't hungry". Such a brilliant line that really highlights the class differences between the two as well as their contrasting characters: Matthieu is raw and 'hungry' making him a good hunter and Claire, more sanguine, easy prey.
Although Matthieu's revenge succeeds it does so at a high cost to him and his family. The film concludes with a somewhat bleak and fatalistic view of class warfare: the upper class being the ultimate winners possessing as they do power and money. However, in the final scene between Matthieu and his brother the film allows some hope that his family's lives will return to the normality they previously enjoyed. A normality rich in feeling that contrasts strongly to the empty emotional world of Claire.
A story that could be dull in its predictability is well crafted and superbly acted. The entire cast is terrific and Benoit Magimel as Matthieu and Nathalie Baye as Claire give fine and convincing performances as the leads. Magimel particularly so as he features in virtually every scene and plays Matthieu as 'still waters that run deep'. Beauvois pays a lot of attention to detail with camera shots that linger and are particularly loving of Le Havre in a moody tale of love, hatred and grief.