Account Eric Gravel, The director, who when he was writing the script was not thinking about a specific actress, but as soon as he started looking for the one who would play the lead role, he thought of Laure Calamy. “She is an extraordinary actress, with a huge range, from drama to comedy. It was interesting to cast her in the role of this woman who is going through a very chaotic moment in her life,” she said in the promo.
It was clear from the beginning that The protagonist of her story had to work in the service sector and nothing better than hotel maids: They never stop, even if the rest of the country does, whether due to a general strike or a pandemic. “Seven entrances, five exits, eight rooms and the Churchill suite for Yoshida,” her boss tells her as soon as she arrives, with almost no time to breathe.
Cinema with social conscience
The film is framed in a great social movement, with a general strike that affects public transportation, an earthquake that affects everyone, those at the top and those at the bottom, although in different ways, because those who suffer are the most vulnerable, a group in the one where Julie is. Your life can suddenly change: you have an interview for a better job, but the strike is the great obstacle that must be overcome. Will he be able to do it?
‘Actress Laure Calamy plays Julie in the film ‘Full Time’
Laure Calamy ‘worked’ in a Paris hotel
The actress learned to make beds with the maids at the Le Bristol Paris hotel: “They gave us a demonstration of how to make a bed and make it impeccable, in just two minutes. When they finished we applauded them. Watching them work was like watching a choreography and, furthermore, I was surprised that these women put passion into doing their work perfectly.”
In addition, she spoke with professionals in the sector who feel exploited, to find out their complaints, fears and needs: from health problems to the inability to reconcile work life with family life, something that is very present in the script. The actress defended the work of waitresses in all the interviews, but she also pointed her finger at the wound suffered by many women who “raise their children alone with a shitty job.”
To prepare for the role of Julie, in ‘Full Time’, the actress prepared in a hotel
Full time, at a frenetic pace
The film begins with Julie breathing, it is the warrior’s rest, the moment in which he recharges his vital battery. Until the alarm clock rings, always too soon. Then comes the battle. The pace of the film becomes frenetic, almost like that of a thriller, and the electronic music of Irène DréseIt accentuates that feeling of vertigo.
It swept the Venice Film Festival
When she filmed with Eric Gravel, Laure Calamy had a long career, spanning more than twenty years, in theater and film, with a Cesar award for Antoinette in the Cévennes and had been nominated for Ava y Seules les bêtes (Only the beasts). Full time had an excellent reception at the Venice Film Festival and won two important awards: a the best direction and the best actress in the Orizzonti section.
The film competed at the Cesar awards in four categories: best actress, best script, best editing and best original music and won in the last two categories. The editing and music are responsible for the fast-paced and dizzying pace of the film, which is now available to watch on RTVE Play, which releases titles such as The barbaric years y Out to sea.