Lady Jane

Muriel (Ariane Ascaride) runs a fancy gift shop. One day she receives a phone call from kidnappers; her son is being held ransom. With the help of two friends she has not seen in 15 years, François (Jean-Pierre Darroussin) and René (Gérard Meylan), they devise a plan to come up with the money. As we wonder why this unassuming trio do not go to the police first, we learn of their past lives as professional robbers.

Although the film is born of a thriller concept, director Robert Guédiguian remains true to the social concerns and militancy which have defined his impressive body of work to date. Set, like the majority of his films, in his native Marseille, Lady Jane reveals its outlaw protagonists as Robin Hood-like figures, sharing their spoils with the working class community in which they grew up. With a keen human eye, Guédiguian’s camera tenderly captures the lives and grinds of the people in the neighbourhood, while the city itself, ever-changing yet abound with history, is a bona-fide character itself. The acting is perfectly understated by the director’s regular players (including wife Ariane Ascaride), as they capture the mid-life reflection and nostalgia one confronts when circumstances suddenly bring the past back into the spotlight. A gem from an acclaimed and awarded French filmmaker, who deserves similar attention outside his country’s borders.