Early One Morning ((P bon matin))

A L'ensemble des Films du Losange, Need Prods. in coproduction with France 2 Cinema, Rhone-Alpes Cinema, RTBF, Belgacom, using the participation of Canal Plus, Cinecinema, France Televisions, La Region Rhone-Alpes, CNC, along with the support from the Region Ile p France, Center du Cinema et p l'Audiovisuel p la Communaute Francaise p Belgique et des Teledistributeurs Wallons, in colaboration with Cinemage 5. (Worldwide sales: L'ensemble des Films du Losange, Paris.) Created by Margaret Menegoz, Regine Vial. Co-producer, Denis Delcampe. Directed by Jean-Marc Moutout. Script, Jean-Marc Moutout, Olivier Gorce, Sophie Fillieres.With: Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Valerie Dreville, Xavier Beauvois, Yannick Renier, Laurent Delbecque, Aladin Reibel, Francois Chattot, Nelly Antignac, Pierre Aussedat, Rob Amoussou, Frederic Leidgens, Richard Sammut, Marion Denys, Jean-Francois Pages.The backstory that partially discloses why a good investment banker all of a sudden kills several co-workers is unfurled in elliptical Gallic drama "Early One Morning," helmer Jean-Marc Moutout's latest take a look at contempo professionals in crisis. As with his earlier "Strive, Play Hard," Moutout fires up the cost of capitalism with the prism of people dealing with intense career demands. Jean-Pierre Darroussin's moving yet subtle lead perf reps the pic's greatest bonus, however the story's downbeat trajectory and excessively fragmentary storytelling might explain why it's had merely a smallish release in Gaul, generating a decent but modest $717,000 approximately since March. 5. Per the helmer within the pic's production notes, the script he co-authored with Olivier Gorce and Sophie Fillieres was inspired with a real-existence report concerning a fiftysomething banker in Europe who all of a sudden walked into his office one Monday morning and shot a couple of his more youthful superiors dead. Pic does not carry any "according to true occasions" tag, but rather invents its very own version of methods someone so apparently respectable might crack and turn to such violence. Protag here's Paul Wertret (Darroussin), first seen brushing his teeth, kissing his sleeping wife, Francoise (Valerie Dreville), goodbye, and leaving for make use of a loaded gun in the brief-case. In the glassy modern offices of BICF, his (imaginary) bank within an un named city, Paul shoots two males who have been, we learn later, his boss, Alain Fisher (thesp-helmer Xavier Beauvois), and more youthful manager, Fabrice Van Listeich (Yannick Renier). Paul then silently would go to sit lower at their own desk together with his gun while his remaining co-workers scatter in stress. After that, asynchronous flashbacks from Paul's existence go a way -- but, apparently deliberately, not completely -- toward explaining how he got until now. The short response is he increased to hate aggressive, tricky Alain and weaselly, backstabbing Fabrice once they sidelined Paul in the bank, and used research he did to warrant reducing a friend he loved, Clarisse (Nelly Antignac), once the world economic crisis forced the financial institution to create cuts. The greater complete answer lies much deeper, partially in the once-rocky marriage with Francoise, and partially in the own feeling of guilt for getting once been just like callous to achieve success regardless of the cost. Moments showing Paul speaking to some counselor (Frederic Leidgens) some several weeks prior to the killing uncover a guy who excessively compartmentalizes his existence and it is arrogantly certain of their own judgment yet estranged from their own feelings. In a nutshell, he was an ideal banker, and also the system that made him has become breaking him. Inside a typically humanist move that's designed to show Paul's moral complexity, Moutout creates inside a sketchy subplot about how exactly he and Francoise required a gap year to complete volunteer operate in Mali and today sponsor a Malian teen, Youssef (Rob Amoussou) who's comparable age his or her own boy, Benoit (Laurent Delbecque). However the strand is not quite satisfyingly meshed in to the primary story, and ultimately, there is the sense the viewer discovers many of the particulars but could never quite begin to see the problem. That perfectly may be intentional, an effort to suggest through jagged editing and oblique storytelling the way we can figure all this out about one man's existence but know him so very little. However, the ultimate effect is quite distancing, leaving "Early One Morning" feeling a little psychologically inert. Darroussin's contained, being applied perf rectifies this somewhat, but it is less than enough.Camera (color, widescreen), Pierric Gantelmi d'Ille editor, Marie Da Costa production designer, Jerome Pouvaret costume designer, Marie Da Costa seem (Dolby Digital), Francois Guillaume supervisory seem editor, Julie Brenta. Examined at London Film Festival (French Revolutions), March. 18, 2011. (Also in Busan Film Festival -- World Cinema.) Running time: 93 MIN. Contact the range newsroom at news@variety.com