Rebecca Zlotowski's French drama 'Grand Central' stars Tahar Rahim as Gary, unemployed and desperate for work. He finds well-paid but dangerous work as a decontaminator of nuclear reactors across France. Gary is based at a plant near Lyon, living on a site with fellow co-workers. They all work, live and play as one.
Spending so much time together, its inevitable that troubles follow. Gary complicates things further, by starting an affair with Karole (Lea Seydoux), the fiancée of a fellow worker who also works at the plant. Not only is his work life hazardous, but so too is his private life. Gary's desire to be close to Karole leads him to take more risks so that he can keep on working, risking his own life in the process.
Gary and Karole's relationship is occasionally more of a backstory to the more interesting drama in the nuclear plant itself. Zlotowski illustrates how ingrained nuclear power is in France, where human contamination is not only inevitable but ongoing for its workers. The human cost is high, mass unemployment means a big queue of people waiting to be exploited, with no real security or prospects. Everyone is affected, so its vital that everyone works together, publicly and privately.
All the actors play their parts well, the leads Rahim and Seydoux don't put a foot wrong but still you care less for Gary and Karole's relationship, and more for the plight of the workers. Its a shame the geiger counter often remains in the middle for 'Grand Central', where certain parts of the film needed to be fleshed out more to provide a more compelling story.
Spending so much time together, its inevitable that troubles follow. Gary complicates things further, by starting an affair with Karole (Lea Seydoux), the fiancée of a fellow worker who also works at the plant. Not only is his work life hazardous, but so too is his private life. Gary's desire to be close to Karole leads him to take more risks so that he can keep on working, risking his own life in the process.
Gary and Karole's relationship is occasionally more of a backstory to the more interesting drama in the nuclear plant itself. Zlotowski illustrates how ingrained nuclear power is in France, where human contamination is not only inevitable but ongoing for its workers. The human cost is high, mass unemployment means a big queue of people waiting to be exploited, with no real security or prospects. Everyone is affected, so its vital that everyone works together, publicly and privately.
All the actors play their parts well, the leads Rahim and Seydoux don't put a foot wrong but still you care less for Gary and Karole's relationship, and more for the plight of the workers. Its a shame the geiger counter often remains in the middle for 'Grand Central', where certain parts of the film needed to be fleshed out more to provide a more compelling story.