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REVIEWS<br />
The Anarchists<br />
Not even rising French stars Tahar Rahim and Adele Exarchopoulos<br />
can bring enough heat to Elie Wajeman’s historical thriller<br />
by jordan mintzer<br />
ASSEMBLING A TOP-NOTCH CAST,<br />
loads of atmosphere and plenty of<br />
intriguing ideas into what could<br />
have been a powerful tale of love<br />
and revolution in turn-of-thecentury<br />
Paris, The Anarchists (Les Anarchistes)<br />
nonetheless fails to ignite the way it should.<br />
This sophomore effort from writer-director<br />
Elie Wajeman takes place more than a century<br />
earlier than his breakout debut, Aliyah, but<br />
never brings the same level of tension, even<br />
if the narrative treads in a similar moral gray<br />
zone where individual ambitions are compromised<br />
by social norms. Proficient if not<br />
explosive turns from Cannes darlings Tahar<br />
Rahim (A Prophet) and Adele Exarchopoulos<br />
(Blue Is the Warmest Color) should push this<br />
Critics’ Week opener into offshore markets,<br />
though the insurrection will play best at home.<br />
It’s 1899 and Paris has never seemed grimmer.<br />
After making his way from poor orphan<br />
to well-read brigadier, the quietly charming<br />
Jean Albertini (Rahim) is ordered by his superior<br />
officer (Cedric Kahn) to infiltrate a band<br />
of young anarchists gaining traction in the<br />
working-class quarters of the city.<br />
Jean quickly ditches his chambermaid<br />
girlfriend and gets hired at a local nail factory,<br />
where punishingly loud machines and 11-hour<br />
workday provide living proof that the French<br />
proletariat is clearly getting the short end of<br />
the baguette. He soon befriends fellow laborers<br />
Biscuit (Karim Leklou, memorable) and<br />
Elisee (the promising Swann Arlaud), convincing<br />
them of his anarchist inclinations by<br />
dropping a Mikhail Bakunin reference.<br />
Wajeman and co-writer Gaelle Mace (Grand<br />
Central) spend a lot of time setting up each<br />
character’s political MO, which means there’s<br />
plenty of speechifying during the first hour<br />
but not nearly enough action. Gradually the<br />
conflicts emerge when Jean moves into the<br />
collective apartment run by bourgeois writer<br />
Marie-Louise (Sarah Le Picard), shacking up<br />
next door to Elisee and his brooding girlfriend,<br />
Judith (Exarchopoulos), with whom he begins<br />
an affair.<br />
There’s not much explanation as to why the<br />
two fall for one another — Jean simply calls<br />
her “beautiful” at one point — nor as to why<br />
Elisee never suspects anything is going on,<br />
even if the illicit lovers are doing it just down<br />
the hall. Wajeman seems to be trying to create<br />
an inner dilemma between Jean’s body and<br />
mind, but his desire for Judith tends to come<br />
across as more superficial than passionate —<br />
although that may be the point, considering<br />
he’s still supposed to be acting undercover.<br />
Regardless, the romantic drama doesn’t<br />
carry the weight it needs to service the rest of<br />
the story, even if Rahim and Exarchopoulos<br />
are engaging enough in their respective roles.<br />
It’s actually the friendship between Jean,<br />
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER 44<br />
NOVEMBER 4 - 15, 2015<br />
ENTRIES NOW OPEN<br />
www.denverfilm.org<br />
Krzysztof Kieslowski Award for Best Feature Film<br />
Maysles Brothers Award for Best Documentary<br />
Maria and Tommaso Maglione Italian Filmmaker Award<br />
Denver Film Fest 1 D3 051515.indd 1<br />
5/13/15 10:36 AM
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