Full Time: NZIFF Review

With its pulse-pounding drama and tension, set against a backdrop of strikes and one last hope, Full Time very much feels like a 21st century rejoinder to Run Lola, Run.

Call My Agent's Laure Calamy stars as single mum Julie, who's struggling to juggle two young kids, a hotel job as a maid miles away from her home and her ambitions and qualifications, as well as a city grinding to a halt by strikes from commuter providers.

When Julie gets a chance to make an interview, she puts it all on the line - her kids' babysitter, her only secure employment. But what she can't have accounted for is the precarious position the dominoes are in - each small movement has a major knock-on effect.

Driven by a nerve-shredding synth score, À plein temps (Full Time) is a propulsive drama that feels very much like the kind of film you can get swept up in. 

With a central performance from Calamy that straddles both desperation and an underdog charm, director Eric Gravel dials up the tension but never loses sight of the humanity of those stuck within an eternal and universal struggle - making ends meet, spending time with your children and wanting something better.

It's a film where the little moments lead to various dramatic narrative bombs (none of which, it has to be said, feel contrived or overplayed) and where the relatable story is the triumph. At the centre of it all is Calamy, a grounded performer whose Julie is a heroine for the times.

Much like Aubrey Plaza in Emily The Criminal, there's something underplayed here which gets you right behind what Julie is undergoing - and like it or not, you'll be on the edge of your seat in many unexpected ways throughout.