Too Easy!

I don't know if it was necessarily an "easy" ending. I saw it more as a logical progression. When I first watched the film I thought that it was going to end with the scene where Vincent is walking away from the car as his wife talks to him on the speaker phone (this is the first time, correct me if I'm wrong, where we hear her tell him "I love you"). However, this would obviously have been an entirely more grim and pessimistic ending than what actually happens. I think the real ending leans more towards the title in that Vincent's downward spiral was his "Time Out," his period of self-discovery. Also, it's not really that his father got him the job, it's more about the change in Vincent, particularly when he says "I'm not scared." Overall, I found it a beautiful film, that plays with the idea of the psyche and internal conflicts and ultimately gives it a shallow, and as you somewhat pointed out, slightly uneasy resolution that adds to the mood of the body of the film.

i don't think it was a matter of his dad stepping in causing a easy ending (though he did help vincent get the job at the end). jeffery told vincent, outside the childrens clothes shop, that other companies were ready to employ him. i suspect it was more vincent refusal to accept the situation and deal with it honestly, instead he chose denial because of the pressures he felt from his family, friends and society in general. to me it seemed that his main problem wasn't fincial (he exploited his friends and took the job as a trafficker to keep up the charade of normality to his family and those around him) but defining his self-worth through his job and status. His difficulty was swollowing his pride and addressing the situation as i think he was trying to do at the end.

i really liked the film. it was painfully and kind of terrifying to watch the character drive himself futher and futher into his own deceit.

It's actually based on a true story. The actual thing that happened is that the man killed his family..

I find the ending incredibly bleak. Everything you need to know about the situation you can read on Aurélien Recoing's face - what an extraordinary performance. So yeah, his dad got him the job and that's exactly why it's so bleak, since throughout the whole film it's clear that he has wanted to break out from under his father's overpowering thumb. Suicide (which is certainly hinted at in the preceding scene) seems to be the easy option. He's chosen life, but at what cost?

the french translation is pretty bad, if u want to know... je sais bien, c'est ma langue maternelle... it would rather go like this: "Purée, qu'est-ce qu'il m'a déçu le flim! Qu'on me laisse cracher ma valda, ah non mais non, alors là, j'en ai trop lourd sur le coeur, purée, et même si j'en dévoile trop sur le flim tant pire, zut alors! Il faut tout de même que quelqu'un le dise! J'ai trouvé que c'était un très bon flim, très divertissant, et tout, avec des personnages bien dessinés et une histoire plutôt pas mal. Mais, purée! Non, la fin du flim, mince, non, alors là... j'm'en suis tapé le front en me disant: "Non! hein dis! Trop facile, ça!" On passe près de deux heures à voir ce mec qui arrête pas de s'enfoncer, et puis bardaff! c'est l'embardée! euh... voilà que le papa débarque et il lui dégotte un job bien payé... C'est l'une des fins les plus frustrantes que j'ai jamais vues, purée! C'est juste comme recevoir une claque!"...
That's a good translation. well i'm proud of me... bon, bin... ne me remercie pas, you're welcome... à part ça je l'a pas vu le film, il est bien? il a quand même l'air bien, non?... well...

One way to take it, and I think the correct one, is that Vincent has always benefitted from his class position and the ending simply represents more of the same. France is and has always been a very class-conscious society.

It's not just the father's money and ability to make a few calls; note that Vincent also has the right business school diploma (he chooses his con victims from the class directory), the right mannerisms, and the right accent. As a matter of fact, these qualities allow Vincent to launch his Ponzi career, and probably even get him hired as crook too: what would attract Jean Michel to hire Vincent in his smuggling operation? Perhaps Vincent can add a respectable card to play in instances where the decidedly proletarian JM and Stan (the hotel guard) wouldn't operate smoothly.

I saw this film some years ago and found it profound and moving. I liked the ambiguity of the ending. For me this is made it so memorable. I still think about it sometimes. Wow, what a different interpretation you have. In my view it is clear that the protagonist doesn't want this job which feels like a slow-drip death sentence to him. But the choice seems to be between two dissatisfying alternatives: acquiescing to the expectations of his social/cultural group which comes with the benefit of keeping his family or throwing it all away in favor of what, death? I thought the final scene was brilliant. The myriad of flickering emotions across his face are telling. I found this film to be a thoughtful meditation on the complexities of the human condition and modern life.

see Nicole Garcia 's " l'adversaire " on the same subject;Mrs Garcia did not take the easy way out!why this bland movie is more rated than hers is beyond me!

I wish I could be like Gladstone Gander.