Louise-Michel

Crime comedy

France

Pinnacle Films

R4 DVD

French with English subtitles

Once again we turn to France for a delightful black comedy about murder and revenge. Louise, a woman who is almost illiterate and is sensitive about it, works at a clothing factory in Normandy. She got this job after doing fifteen years in prison for murder and, simple or not, she has a certain toughness about her. It’s not much of a job at the clothing factory but it keeps her going while she tries to improve herself and learn to read.

The factory manager, Flambert, is taking a “commission” from her pay. She must also cooperate with him to fulfil his very odd sexual fantasy. Louise is definitely one of life’s victims. Life turns cruelly on her again when the factory closes without notice. Then her apartment is demolished – there were plenty of warnings posted up and advertised but she just couldn’t read them.

She and the other factory women have a meeting to decide what to do. There are various suggestions such as opening a pizza shop, but Louise proposes pooling their redundancy money and hiring a hitman to kill Flambert. This idea appeals to the women and Louise sets about looking for a suitable killer. She finds Michel, a seedy little man who lives in a fantasy world where he is a Security Consultant. He talks a good story and has a great collection of guns. He is so inept at killing that he has to contract out the work to people who don’t have long to live and would like a few Euros to ease their last months. This includes his own sister. He would be amoral and self-serving if he wasn’t so pathetic at it.

The factory was just a branch of a multinational so tracking down the real owner is difficult, but Louise will not give up. The trail leads them from Normandy to Brussels to the island of Jersey.

Yolande Moreau plays a brilliant role as the simple and uneducated Louise, with Bouli Lanners as the bumbling Michel ably supporting her. Although the murders they are planning are a fairly antisocial action you just can’t condemn them for it. Our sympathies are definitely with the underdog against the rich capitalists.

It is worth watching the film right through the titles as there is just a little more of the film tacked on at the end.

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