Nightshift

Philippe Le Guay’s unnerving thriller packs an even stronger punch than most within its everyday setting.
Pierre is a happily married father of one, who has struck a sound balance both at work and at home. However, when he moves to the nightshift in the bottle factory where he works, he encounters Fred, whose brash character will shake up the contented state of Pierre’s world. What is initially justified as friendly goading by Fred soon reveals its more insidious nature, as his taunting of Pierre takes increasingly strong verbal and physical turns.
A gripping thriller with fascinating characters, Philippe Le Guay achieves a rare feat by deftly mixing suspense with social comment. The director observes the workplace with an insight so particular to the French (the likes of Laurent Cantet and Robert Guédiguian come to mind), while also evoking a myriad of themes and everyday issues associated to family life. It is the jeopardising of these pivotal aspects of life that imbue Le Guay’s film with such tension.
This drama of this workplace bullying is filmed with such verve and patience, while the actors ably capture the complex psychological fallout within this toxic atmosphere. Le Guay’s film entertains and reflects us on numerous levels, which elevates it to a cinematic work of great importance.