Time Out (L' Emploi du temps) (2001)

96% of critics liked it
(82 reviews)
76% of users liked it
(1,685 ratings)

French director Laurent Cantet's sophomore effort is a somber and complex meditation on work -- specifically, how work has become the defining feature of the contemporary individual as well as the quintessential symbol of quotidian despair. The movie tells the story of Vincent (Aurelien Recoing), a… More French director Laurent Cantet's sophomore effort is a somber and complex meditation on work -- specifically, how work has become the defining feature of the contemporary individual as well as the quintessential symbol of quotidian despair. The movie tells the story of Vincent (Aurelien Recoing), a middle-class family man recently fired from his drab, middle-management job. Unable to tell his family about his firing, Vincent spends his workdays driving around the French countryside --"business trips" he tells his wife -- keeping intact the reassuring routine of going to work and coming home to his wife and kids. As his family grows suspicious of his evasive behavior, Vincent is forced to spin a new tale, pretending to get a job working for the U.N. In a bid to keep the money coming in, he recruits old friends to invest in an imaginary emerging-markets investment scheme. Vincent also falls in with Jean-Michel (Serge Livrozet), a black market dealer whose ignominious past serves as an ominous warning for Vincent's present course. Despite his efforts to maintain an undisturbed surface, Vincent's wife begins to suspect something amiss. As the lies pile up and the questions from his family mount, Vincent loses control of his fragile double life, leading to a poignant conclusion. Cantet's film premiered at the 2001 Venice Film Festival. ~ Elbert Ventura, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 2 hr. 14 min.
Directed By: Laurent Cantet
Written By: Laurent Cantet, Robert Campillo, Robin Campillo
Genres: Documentary, Drama, Art House & International, Comedy

In Theaters: Apr 12, 2002 Limited
On DVD: Jan 14, 2003
Studio: ThinkFilm

Critic Reviews

Jay Boyar, Orlando Sentinel
Time Out is as serious as a pink slip. And more than that, it's an observant, unfussily poetic meditation about identity and alienation.
Joe Baltake, Sacramento Bee
The film is darkly funny in its observation of just how much more grueling and time-consuming the illusion of work is than actual work.
Desson Thomson, Washington Post
The drama discloses almost nothing.
John A. Nesbit, Old School Reviews
engaging character study that probes far deeper than American films dare tread
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
Laurent Cantet's sophomore film, a brilliant character study of the impact of unemployment on one ordinary man's life and personality, places him at the forefront of a new generation of exciting Gallic directors.
Jeffrey Overstreet, Looking Closer
Cantet takes his time, letting us become almost comfortable in Vincent's presence, then shocking us with the audacity of his lies.
Judith Egerton, Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY)
A nonviolent yet tragic tale of job alienation and self-worth.
Greg Muskewitz, eFilmCritic.com
Time Out ... manage[s] to remain compelling for all of its austerity and simplicity, acknowledging a strong performance by Recoing ...
Emily Blunt, Blunt Review
Here's a sleepy little treasure folks! Veteran French stage actor, Aurélien Recoing, looms in the film. He is at once foreboding and inviting.
Kevin N. Laforest, Montreal Film Journal
A fascinating, unique exploration of the nature of work.

Read all 10 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Dan S

A beautiful, haunting piece of social realism, concerning an unemployed father who lies to his family about his new job, as well as to close friends who he tricks into giving their money for a made-up investment plan. While admittedly slow-paced and definitely not for all tastes,… More
A beautiful, haunting piece of social realism, concerning an unemployed father who lies to his family about his new job, as well as to close friends who he tricks into giving their money for a made-up investment plan. While admittedly slow-paced and definitely not for all tastes, director Laurent Cantet never, for one second, drifts into melodrama like some dramas with subject matter like this sometimes do. With the exception of the pace of the film, this thing is nearly perfect, with a riveting last twenty minutes that contain a powerful, unexpected conclusion that you won't see coming. If anything, this deserves to be seen due to the current state of the economy, as it does its best to humanize any potential monsters, since in the end you do care about Vincent, even if he does do some horrendous things throughout the movie.
Hal M

A businessman has lost his job but can't quite admit it to those nearest and dearest, so he begins to prevaricate ("I'm going to get a job in a foreign country...yeah...I got it!...working for a Liberal Politically Correct Charity!"). Lie heaps upon lie. His… More
A businessman has lost his job but can't quite admit it to those nearest and dearest, so he begins to prevaricate ("I'm going to get a job in a foreign country...yeah...I got it!...working for a Liberal Politically Correct Charity!"). Lie heaps upon lie. His nearest and dearest become suspicious. Pressure builds! Laurent Cantet does a great job in directing--cinematography, acting. Yet the story by Robin Campillo, with a Cantet co-credit, fails sadly. With so much build-up of suspense we REQUIRE a major payoff. There is none. Just a sort of epilogue as to what eventually happens to whatshizname. The air goes out of the balloon.

Cast

Aurélien Recoing
as Vincent
Karin Viard
as Muriel
Serge Livozet
as Jean-Michel

Jean-Pierre Mangeot
as Vincent's father
Monique Mangeot
as Vincent's mother
Nicolas Kalsch
as Julien

See full cast

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Time Out (L' Emploi du temps) (2001)

Critic Reviews

Featured Audience Ratings

Dan S

Hal M

Cast

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