Single mother Julie (Laure Calamy in her second nomination for a Best Actress César) works a grueling job as a head chambermaid in a five-star Parisian hotel. Julie’s daily balance of commuting from her remote suburb into Paris, tenuous childcare and search for a new job to get her out of debt, becomes unmanageable during a paralyzing transport strike in Paris. Literally running from dawn to sunset to get to her job and back home in time to fetch her children, Julie is constantly on the verge of a breakdown. When she finally gets a job interview for a position more suited to her skill set, Julie has to walk a very tightrope between keeping her current job, and sneaking out while calling on co-workers to cover for her as more obstacles pile up in front of her.

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[youtube https://youtu.be/_8_-3VPsJtU?t=4357]

Video Quality

Full Time comes to DVD with a 480p transfer that is quite enjoyable for the format. The cinematography of the film skews a bit on the darker side, but there are moments where bright colors make their appearance on screen. Skin tones look natural, and there are some agreeable facial details present, especially in close ups. This DVD offers up a solid amount of detail from the production design to clothing. Compression artifacts are a part of this transfer without being detrimental. Black levels are strong with only a minimal amount of blocking. Colors are fairly vibrant, especially in brighter environments and locations. This presentation is about as good as you can expect a DVD to look. While we hope a Blu-Ray release is forthcoming, this movie is worth checking out on any format.

Audio Quality

The DVD comes with a Dolby Digital 5.1 Audio track in the original French which suits the film within its limitations. Environmental sounds are a huge part of the soundscape such as background chatter or various city sounds which add a dynamic touch to the proceedings. There is pretty consistent activity in the film, and this track presents the movie exactly as it was intended with its frantic energy. The film is largely driven by dialogue, but the transfixing music gives the track an extra shot of life. Dialogue is mixed well and comes through clearly without ever being stepped on by the score or any sound effects. Directionality is rendered accurately so that sounds originate from all the natural spots. There is a slight loss of power without a lossless track, but it holds up well overall. The disc includes optional English subtitles.

Special Features

Isolated Score: An option to watch the film with just the score audible in Dolby Digital 5.1.

Interview with Director Eric Gravel: A three-and-a-half minute interview with the director in which he discusses why he wanted to tell this story, taking the point of view of a single mother, choosing Laure Calamy to play the lead role, playing at the French Film Festival and more.

Filmmaker Q&A From The French Film Festival: A 41-minute Q&A with director Eric Gravel which spends about the first seven minutes with the festival organizers discussing the festival before jumping into the introduction and post-screening Q&A in which he discusses what draws him to stories about working women, the place of the score in the narrative, the performance of Laure Calamy, the reserved dignity of the main character, the place of men in the narrative, the locations featured and more.

Theatrical Trailer: The nearly two-minute trailer is provided here.

Final Thoughts

Full Time is a prime example of how filmmaking can be wielded to get you deeply invested in seemingly low-stakes actions. Through its combination of deft editing and a tightly packed script, this human tale of trying to claw your way to a better life leaves you breathless. The lead performance from Laure Calamy is a knockout, especially since the character is not positioned to be flawless. This narrative does a great job of stirring up your anxiety, and you are all the more riveted because of that. Music Box Films has released a DVD featuring a pretty good A/V presentation for the format along with a couple of nifty special features. If you like a pulse-pounding thriller that hinges on believable human stakes, this is the movie for you. Recommended

Full Time is currently available to purchase on DVD and Digital.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the DVD.

Disclaimer: Music Box Films has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.