The Axe (film)
| The Axe (Le couperet) | |
|---|---|
 Original French poster | |
| Directed by | Costa-Gavras |
| Produced by | Michèle Ray-Gavras |
| Written by |
Jean-Claude Grumberg Costa-Gavras |
| Based on |
The Ax by Donald E. Westlake |
| Starring |
José Garcia Karin Viard Olivier Gourmet |
| Cinematography | Patrick Blossier |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Mars Distribution (France) |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 122 min |
| Country |
France Belgium Spain |
| Language | French |
| Budget | $5.4 million[1] |
| Box office | $4.8 million[1] |
The Axe (US title: The Ax) (French: Le couperet) is a French-Belgian-Spanish film from 2005 by Greek-French director Costa-Gavras, starring José Garcia, Karin Viard and Olivier Gourmet. The film is an adaptation of the 1997 novel The Ax by Donald E. Westlake, and follows the attempts by a laid-off employee to get back on his feet. He eventually becomes so desperate that he is prepared to kill his job competitors.
Synopsis
The 39-year-old chemist Bruno Davert has been working for a Belgian paper mill for 15 years, improving products and saving money for the shareholders. One day, the company announces that it is forced to "downsize", so 600 staff are laid off and many of their jobs are instead outsourced to a company in Romania. The result is a 16% increase in dividends to the company shareholders.
Bruno was one of the 600 laid off, and two years later he has still not been able to find another job, in spite of numerous job applications. He has lost his self-esteem and his family has been forced to give up many of its accepted comforts, such as cable TV and the internet, although his wife has taken two part-time jobs in order to keep them afloat. Bruno concludes that there is too much competition in his sector for the few jobs available, so in desperation he decides to literally eliminate his competitors, by killing those more qualified than him.
Main cast
- José Garcia as Bruno Davert
- Karin Viard as Marlène Davert
- Geordy Monfils as Maxime Davert
- Christa Theret as Betty Davert
- Ulrich Tukur as Gérard Hutchinson
- Olivier Gourmet as Raymond Machefer
- Yvon Back as Etienne Barnet
- Thierry Hancisse as Inspector Kesler
- Olga Grumberg as Iris Thompson
- Catherine Salée as Lydia
- Yolande Moreau as clerk
- Dieudonné Kabongo as Quinlan Longus
Critical reception
The movie was well received by the critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 80% of 5 critics gave the film a positive review, for an average rating of 7.2/10.[2]
References
- 1 2 JP's Box-Office: Le couperet - (French only) Re-linked 2014-09-23
- ↑ http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/couperet/?search=Le%20Couperet
External links
- The Axe at the Internet Movie Database