Chaos (2001)

This fast-paced, intelligent parable about sexual equality took me completely by surprise--I know a movie really works for me when I forget to check the clock or get snacks or just nod off. This is a chase film of a sort, and a whodunit--but much more. Even before the titles, the thriller grabs the viewer with a scene of bloody violence, simultaneously contrasted with the insensitivity of those who exist in a bubble of wealth: the pace does not slacken, although the violence does.The director has given each character time to expand, and, if they choose, to grow. It's true that most of the men in the film are shown to be beasts who think women chattel, but every film has a point of view, and this one is handled with a good deal of humor, with superb performances by a cast of relative unknowns; The tone of this offbeat character-driven romp reminds me of an Almodovar film without the craziness and eccentricity, but with a similar transcendent sense of empowerment.

'Chaos' is a very surprising movie from many points of view. Director Coline Serreau drives a quite complex story, changes pace and uses different techniques all along the film, and so succeeds to keep the interest at pick for the whole duration of the movie.It starts like a bourgeois drama - a couple in Paris refuses to help a young girl attacked by a gang of criminals. He is a total jerk, as are the majority of the male characters in the movie, but the wife followed by remorse searches for the young girl in the hospital and basically saves her life and supports her in the recovery process. The psychological drama in the first part of the film turns into a sordid gang story later with almost Terentinesque touches when we learn that the young prostitute is followed by her employers who are ready to bring her back at any price and not only for her services.Well filmed and acted, with a remarkable performance from Rachida Brakni in the principal role the film succeeds to be convincing despite its very sharp and maybe too explicit social stands. The main character is a victim of sexual exploitation by men, as well as of oppression as a young woman in her family of Algerian origin and the authors make no secret where the guilt lies. The cinema qualities of the film avoid turning it into a manifest on screen and by providing an enjoyable and interesting film experience the message makes it better to the viewers.

It is a romantic comedy. No, it is a drama of class conflict. No, it is a crime thriller. No, it is a chick flick – all the men are either brutes or comically clueless while strong women bond. But wait! It is all of these – and more! At first thought, one might well jump to the conclusion that such a mixing of tones is a sure recipe for…well…chaos. But writer/director Coline Serreau blends all the elements perfectly into a funny, suspenseful, and uplifting film. It begins with a professional couple (Catherine Frot and Vincent Lindon) rushing out of their apartment, late for a dinner engagement. On the way there, a woman, obviously a prostitute, who is being pursued by three men, runs toward their car yelling for help. Lindon locks the doors. The woman is caught and is being savagely beaten as the couple drives away. Lindon doesn't want to be involved, but Frot finds the woman unconscious in a public hospital and becomes her major caregiver and protector. Frot is excellent. Rachida Brakni, who plays the young woman forced into prostitution but trying to break away, is a terrific new talent. Can a guy fall in love with two women at the same time? I did while watching this movie. This just in! Director Serreau did such great work that she has landed the job of directing the inevitable Hollywood remake of her own film, due in '06. It looks like Meryl Streep will take the role played by Catherine Frot. Some days I think I must go mad.

"Chaos" is a subtitled French flick about a middle aged couple who make no effort to help a street hooker who is being beaten by three men. As this dramedy unfolds, the wife finds the hooker in the hospital, helps nurse her back to health, and thus begins a long relationship which carriers them into a variety of situations including revenge wreaked upon a pimp, some payback for to the bad Samaritan husband, the rescue of an Algerian girl who is about to be sold into marriage, etc. The film is a technically good effort. However, the comedic and dramatic components don't work together but rather work against each other diluting their efficacy and rendering the film a matter of curiosity rather than a vehicle for entertainment. Pass on this one unless you have a taste for clumsy feminist subtitled black comedy. (B-)