SHE'S ONE OF US (France / 2003)



Siegrid Alnoys striking debut feature, Shes One of Us (Elle est des ntres), is one of the great character studies French cinema has produced in recent years; at the same time, the film also functions as an assault on the prosaic rituals of a modern workplace. Deftly employing her highly evocative visual sense which brings to mind the works of such disparate filmmakers as Antonioni and Dumont (the latter served as an inspiration), Alnoy succinctly depicts the enigmatic world of her protagonist, Christine Blanc (a brilliant Sasha Andrs), a lanky and awkward -- not to mention socially inept -- thirty-something office temp whos struggling to find her niche. While Christines attempts to befriend her bosses often result in misunderstandings, she ends up developing a rapport with her temp agency supervisor (Catherine Mouchet). But that eventually requires her to expose herself, something she has never accomplished (quite possibly because she is incapable of doing so), which leads to an act that becomes revelationary for her. 

If the film wasnt absorbing enough thus far, Alnoy deepens it with keen behavioral and psychological insights, making her protagonist at once intimate and distant. Christine, whose newfound vitality leads her to a new job and a boyfriend, now examines the world from a different viewpoint, yet her internal impulses persist. Shot in the Rhne-Alpes region in eastern France, which according to the director provided the perfect environment for Christines state of mind, Shes One of Us aptly features chilly, sterile visuals complemented by a sound design which makes good use of Mozarts "Requiem" amid sudden, devastating drops. Alnoys nearly-metaphysical renderings in the third-act might be a bit troublesome -- perhaps the reason why the film hasnt been granted the status of similar workplace anxiety dramas like Read My Lips (2001) and Time Out (2001) -- but her singular portrait is consistently compelling. And based on this film, its safe to say that she is more than capable of making a masterpiece in her next outing.

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*SHE'S ONE OF US premiered at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival (Critics' Week). The film was distributed in the U.S. during 2005. Now available on DVD.