Cinema Releases - The Measure of A Man
At the age of 51 and after twenty months of unemployment, Thierry (Vincent Lindon) starts a new job in security at a supermarket that soon brings him face to face with a moral dilemma.
How much is he willing to accept in order to keep his job is the central question that Measure of a Man (La Loi du Marché) addresses.
For his role as Thierry, Vincent Lindon, who was the only professional actor in the film, was awarded the Palme for Best Actor at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, as well as the Cesar for Best Actor in 2016, the French equivalent of the British BAFTA.
Cesar Award for Best Actor, France, 2016
London Film Festival 2015
Special Mention, Prize of the Ecumenical Jury, Cannes 2015
Silver Peacock, Best Actor, International Film Festival of India 2015
Stéphane Brizé is a French director and screenwriter. He was born on October 18, 1966 in Rennes. He is known for his feature films Not Here to Be Loved (Je ne suis pas là pour être aimé, 2005), Mademoiselle Chambon (2009) and Quelques heures de printemps (2012). La Loi du marché (Measure of a Man) is his latest film, it was selected in Competition at the Cannes Film Festival. Vincent Lindon won the Best Actor award in Cannes for his outsdanding performance as Thierry as well as the French Cesar for Best Actor in 2016.
| Feature-Length Films |
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2015 THE MEASURE OF A MAN (La Loi du marché) |
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2012 A FEW HOURS OF SPRING (Quelques Heures de printemps) |
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2009 MADEMOISELLE CHAMBON |
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2007 AMONG ADULTS (Entre Adultes) |
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2005 NOT HERE TO BE LOVED (Je ne suis pas là pour être aimé) |
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1999 HOMETOWN BLUES (Le Bleu des villes) |
| Documentaries and Short Films |
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2004 - UNE VIE DE RÊVES (Dream Life) |
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2002 - LE BEL INSTANT (Beautiful Instant) (Documentary) |
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1996 - L’OEIL QUI TRAÎNE |
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1993 - BLEU DOMMAGE |
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CREW |
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Director |
Stéphane BRIZÉ |
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Screenplay |
Stéphane BRIZÉ and Olivier GORCE |
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Producers |
Christophe ROSSIGNON and Philip BOËFFARD |
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Associate Producers |
Vincent LINDON and Stéphane BRIZÉ |
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Line Producer |
Eve FRANÇOIS MACHUEL |
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Director of Photography |
Éric DUMONT |
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Editing |
Anne KLOTZ |
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Assistant Director |
Émile LOUIS |
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Sound |
Emmanuelle VILLARD |
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Sound Editing and Mixing |
Hervé GUYADER |
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Production Designer |
Valérie SARADJIAN A.D.C. |
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Costume Designers |
Anne DUNSFORD and Diane DUSSAUD |
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Casting |
Coralie AMÉDÉO A.R.D.A. |
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Production Manager |
Kim NGUYEN |
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Post Production Manager |
Julien AZOULAY |
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A coproduction |
NORD-OUEST FILMS – ARTE FRANCE CINÉMA |
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With the participation of |
CANAL+, CINÉ+, ARTE FRANCE |
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With the support of |
The ÎLE-DE-FRANCE Region |
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In collaboration with |
CNC |
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93 minutes / 2.35 / 2k / 5.1 / 2015 |
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CAST |
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Thierry Taugourdeau |
Vincent LINDON |
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Employment Agency counselor |
Yves ORY |
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Thierry’s wife |
Karine de MIRBECK |
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Thierry’s son |
Matthieu SCHALLER |
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Union colleague |
Xavier MATHIEU |
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Dance teacher |
Noël MAIROT |
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Bank manager |
Catherine SAINT-BONNET |
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Mobile home buyer |
Roland THOMIN |
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Mobile home buyer’s wife |
Hakima MAKOUDI |
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Employment Agency tutor |
Tevi LAWSON |
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Employment Agency interns |
Fayçal ADDOU |
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Dahmane BELGHOUL |
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Florence HERRY-LEHAM |
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Agnès MILLORD |
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Irène RACCAH |
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Christian RANVIER |
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Cyril J. ROLLAND |
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Sandrine VANG |
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Security agent n°1 |
Stéphanie HUREL |
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Young shoplifter |
Soufiane GUERRAB |
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Retired woman |
Gisèle GERWIG |
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Supermarket manager |
Saïd AÏSSAOUI |
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Security agent n°2 |
Rami KABTENI |
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High school headmaster |
Éric KROP |
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Interrogated cashier n°1 |
Françoise ANSELMI |
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Security Agent n°3 |
Jean-Eddy PAUL |
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Security Agent n°4 |
Samuel MUTLEN |
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Old shoplifter |
Christian WATRIN |
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Human Resources Director |
Guillaume DRAUX |
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Interrogated cashier n°2 |
Sakina TOILIBOU |
★★★★
'This is a film whose subtleties and nuances accumulate; Lindon’s performance won him the best actor award at Cannes in 2015, and it was well deserved. A tough, clear-sighted, compassionate film.'
Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
★★★★
'Uncompromisingly authentic, impeccably played and quietly compelling.'
Patrick Peters Empire
★★★★
'...at once compassionate, engrossing from start to finish, and utterly relevant.'
Geoff Andrew, Time Out★★★★
'There is a quiet savagery to Brizé’s treatment of the capitalist machine...A social drama to cherish.'
Donald Clarke, The Irish Times
A laid-off factory worker must fight for his dignity in a moving portrait of working-class life
'Vincent Lindon’s careworn, hangdog face has never been better used as Thierry, a former factory worker who finds himself forced into the demeaning circus of job-seeking and the day-to-day struggle to make ends meet. It’s a potent performance.'
Wendy Ide, The Observer
'Over three features starring Lindon (this one and Mademoiselle Chambon, 2009, and A Few Hours of Spring, 2012), director Stéphane Brizé has become a champion of ordinary people confronted with the mundane and yet tragic problems of everyday life – a happy couple breaking up, a terminally ill mother opting for assisted suicide, unemployment. In the new film, Brizé further develops his semi-documentary technique to explore the world of work.'
Ginette Vincendeau, Sight & Sound
'Lindon exudes ordinary, everyday decency and no-nonsense intelligence – qualities that sit perfectly with Brizé’s sharply observed study of professional integrity and moral compromise. Such is Lindon’s skill in the realist mode that he is entirely one with a cast which is, except for him, entirely non-professional'.
Geoff Andrew, Sight and Sound
★★★★The Measure of a Man is a dour, slow-burning slice of life that gradually turns into a modern morality tale. It is sustained throughout by the depth of feeling in Lindon’s granite-like, hangdog performance – as he steps into the shoes of a man forced to decide what is truly important in his life.
Allan Hunter, The List'Brilliant Lindon, whose eloquent subtlety has propelled him to the top of most tipsters’ lists of the race for best actor at Cannes'.
Donald Clarke, The Irish Times
"Tremendous...absorbing and heartbreaking."
Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian★★★★ 'A slow-burning slice of life that turns into a heartbreaking modern morality tale'
Allan Hunter, The Daily Express
★★★★ Anticipation ★★★★ Enjoyment ★★★★ Retrospect
'Vincent Lindon excels as an ill-fated factory worker in this engaging social drama... An absorbing and enraging look at a broken system.'
Phil Concannon, Little White Lies
★★★★
EYE FOR FILM (also see interview with Vincent Lindon under links)
★★★★
THE UPCOMING
CINEVUE (see interview with Vincent Lindon under links)
'Lindon brings gravitas and pathos to this role as the French everyman trying to stay afloat in a society that has spurned him.'
Geoffrey Macnab THE INDEPENDENT
"Excellent… superbly composed and performed"
Peter Bradshaw on Twitter
"While the competition’s French content was shaky, I admired immensely Stéphane Brizé’s The Measure of a Man (the French title actually means The Law of the Market). About the travails of a middle-aged jobseeker, it’s a low-key Dardennes-style social drama that has some very angry things to say about the dehumanising effects of management and recruitment cultures, and of CCTV cameras in supermarkets. See it, and you’ll feel decidedly nervous on your next trip to Waitrose."
Jonathan Romney, The Observer
"Featuring an extraordinary, almost inexplicably riveting lead performance from Vincent Lindon, who earned a Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival for his work here, Stéphane Brizé's "The Measure of a Man" is a terrific addition to the low-key social realist genre."
Jessica Kiang, The Playlist
"Potent, quiet protest against capitalist dehumanisation. Lindon one of the most authoritative screen presences..."
Jonathan Romney (on Twitter)
"French social critique at its finest... Veteran French actor Vincent Lindon delivers a sterling performance in Stéphane Brizé’s low-key but devastating drama...Lindon’s heart-wrenching performance, is as restrained as it is moving"
Benjamin Dodman, The Atlantic
'Powerfully affecting... Compelling. A sharp and devastating force...Lindon excels... (He) is simply heartbreaking to watch.'
Scott Foundas, Variety
'This gripping, fiercely intelligent drama by Stéphane Brizé (I'm Not There To Be Loved) is of a piece with recent investigations by Laurent Cantet, the Dardennes et al into the dehumanizing effects of both unemployment and the workplace. Vincent Lindon, the recipient of the Best Actor prize at the Cannes Film Festival, gives a quiet performance of depth and authority imbuing his Everyman hero with emotional and existential heft.'
Jonathan Romney, LFF 2015 Programme
'It's a memorable portrait of a man whose dignity and humanity are slowly pried away from him, until he snatches them back at the end.'
J. R. Jones, The Chicago Reader
'Stéphane Brizé's humanist drama tallies the slow drip of dignity in a downsized world.'
Peter Howell, Toronto Star
Download photo set - jpegs
Download Pressbook
Download Quad Poster
Trailer on Vimeo (can be downloaded)
Watch and listen to the press conference held during the Cannes Film Festival
Read an interview with director Stephane Brize in Cineuropa
Read an interview with Vincent Lindon reflecting on his career in Eye for Film
CineVue interview with Vincent Lindon
Read an interview with Vincent Lindon
Watch an interview with Vincent Lindon on the website of the French newspaper Le Monde (in French)
Read an interview with Vincent Lindon in the magazine Telerama (in French)