The Measure of a Man

Director: Stéphane Brizé
Year Released: 2015
Rating: 3.0

Unemployed blue collar worker Thierry (Vincent Lindon) - who has a disabled son, a wife and plenty of bills - experiences difficulties (and ridicule) trying to secure a new employer, eventually being hired as a security guard (and having to spy on customers and co-workers). Brizé follows Laurent Cantet (Human Resources, Time Out) and the Dardennes (Two Days, One Night) in this study of the cruelty of the working world and the troubles of 'ordinary people' trying to crawl out of debt - it's a timely subject, if depressing and a bit underdeveloped (the script sticks to surface-level issues) ... at the end, it leaves Thierry back in the same situation he started in. Lindon (like Cotillard in Two Days...) is what drives this: when faced with constant criticism and frustration he remains outwardly composed while trying to suppress the rage.