For sure, the social world is, at least for now, Julie’s world. She must speak to numerous people, she must contact and depend on strangers (and her ex-husband), she is forced to anger acquaintances. She is a single mother trying to better the lives of her two children by getting a new job, but she must make it to her interview and there’s a transit strike going on. She hitchhikes. Indeed, it’s a complicated and aching urban France Julie lives in, and she is struggling full time.

Full Time (A plein temps, 2021) is the name of the film, an intense, quickly-moving concoction. Eric Gravel penned the clear-eyed original script and directed it sapidly. Editing these days is usually spot-on, and so it is with Mathilde Van de Moortel’s work. A brunette with a sparkling smile, Laure Calamy is natural, offering brilliant facial play, as Julie. Gravel’s movie is almost a small masterpiece.

(In French with English subtitles)