A bad ending as an economic statement
most of my piece of the cake it works as an odd couple story with a timely lead on the class structure and state of the world economy. These opening sections of the film are routine and structurally and thematically predictable, but at least they hold up with some decent performances and some well-placed moments of levity. But then we’re hit over the head with a final act that’s off-putting, wildly implausible, and painfully misguided in its efforts to make a statement. It begins with the most reliable of plot devices, a surprise twist, and ends ambiguously, fulfilling writer-director Cédric Klapisch’s desire to symbolically reveal the state of the world we live in. I am not here to say that he is not making a valid point. However, you are doing it the wrong way.
It begins in the French seaside town of Dunkerque, where, thanks to outsourcing, a factory has just closed. For the aptly named France (Karin Viard), a blue-collar worker, the news comes as a devastating shock, finding her lying in a hospital bed after a failed suicide attempt. She is a single mother with three children and is now faced with the task of finding a new job. She decides to travel to Paris, where she is preparing to be a housekeeper. Getting her into the show requires a bit of untruth, since it’s designed specifically for immigrant women; he gets by with a Russian accent and a booming personality. She is then assigned to the luxurious apartment of a wealthy power broker named Steve (Gilles Lellouche), who has just returned to Paris after living in London for ten years.
Steve is handsome, but he’s also cocky, and he doesn’t know anything about relating to women. This is demonstrated by an unnecessary scene in which he tries to woo a French model by taking her on a trip to Venice, where he showers her with expensive gifts. He, of course, is only interested in sex, and is very offended when the young woman announces that she never makes love on the first date. She is just one of several women in his life. It seems that the only thing Steve knows how to do is make money. France realizes this and, after a very short period of time, feels bold enough to dispense her wisdom on women. What’s surprising is that he seems willing to listen, and this is after introducing himself to her as the tough workaholic.
The situation begins to change after the unexpected revelation that Steve is the father of a little boy named Alban (Lunis Sakji). The boy is dropped off by his mother, who is about to go on a month-long vacation to Thailand. Naturally, Steve completely forgot about this arrangement. Now she is faced with taking care of a child, of which she knows nothing. Luckily, you have France, which has experience with children. He promotes her to the position of nanny, with a salary increase of 100 euros as an incentive. France is delighted with the extra money, though it comes with an unfortunate trade-off, namely spending more and more time away from her own children, whom she used to visit every weekend. In the process of staying in Paris, France pushes Steve step by step to become a respectable man; he learns to communicate with women, begins to appreciate his son, and finally admits that being rich doesn’t make him happy.
Based on what I’ve just described, one would think that this movie would do well as a Hollywood romantic comedy. But don’t rush. There is a darker side to this story, and it is revealed shortly after the aforementioned plot twist. It relies on an innate cinematic coincidence, which would be fine were it not for the fact that Klapisch was striving for a realistic depiction of current economic conditions. What starts out as implausible quickly turns off-putting, as we learn that neither Steve nor France are as innocent as they initially seemed. We then ended up on an unresolved and very unsatisfactory note. There’s nothing wrong with refusing to tie stories into neat little packages, though it helps if you make sure the tone is balanced along the way.
Surely I know what Klapisch is trying to say: globalization and the digital revolution have stripped the industrial world of any value it once had, thus creating a gap between finance and work. And of course we all want our piece of the pie. What I don’t understand is why Klapisch had to make this statement in this particular way. I find it difficult to accept when it is based on an ending that requires not only a tremendous suspension of disbelief, but also a different and less sympathetic point of view of its main characters. my piece of the cake it has some well-written moments, and I certainly enjoyed the performances of Viard and Lellouche, who have natural on-screen chemistry. Unfortunately, the way he ultimately delivers his message does far more harm than good.
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