The yearning to connect with others is a very strong emotion in all of us. In some, it is an obsession. Yet often the harder we try to make a good impression or to become a friend, the more we miss the mark. Relationships must be allowed to grow slowly and naturally. They cannot be forced.
This unusual and daring French film marks the debut of director Siegrid Alnoy. It is set in a provincial town in the Rhone Alps region of France. Christine (Sasha Andres) is a thirty-five-year-old outsider who works for a temp agency and floats from one job to another. This way of life seems to suit her since she has a hard time relating to others. In one telling early scene, she walks into a corporate lunchroom and her tray begins shaking, due to her fear and indecisiveness over where to sit. Christine tells everyone that she has a boyfriend even though she doesn't. Although she visits her parents regularly, they do not have a clue about her personal life. No wonder one of Christine's greatest pleasures is sitting quietly in a circle of chairs in a mall. In this depersonalized modern milieu, she feels at home.
Christine decides that she wants to make a good impression on Patricia (Catherine Mouchet), one of her superiors at the temp agency. She marvels at her collection of porcelain owls and, before inviting her over to her apartment for dinner, purchases her own collection so as to have something in common with her. Much to her surprise, Patricia later invites her to join her at a pool. A shocking incident between the two of them there changes the course of Christine's life.
Because of this act of aggression, this nervous young woman suddenly is ready to take on the challenges of transforming herself into a new person. She passes her driving test, and some fellow workers take her out for a celebration. She is hired full-time by a firm and becomes a tough boss who looks out for herself. She is especially hard on a young woman who seems to cling to her, bringing memories of the needy person she once was. Christine is courted by a co-worker and they move into a new apartment together. Of course, the price for this assimilation into the competitive and ruthless world of work is high but she is willing to pay the price. Eventually, the shocking incident with Patricia catches up with her and she is forced to deal with the consequences of her actions.
In one of the film's most poignant scenes, Christine has lunch with Degas (Carlo Brandt), a police investigator who queries her about her life and her emotions. What comes out in this dialogue is more than she has ever revealed to anyone else including her new lover and her parents. She's One of Us begins with a quotation from Dostoevsky's The Dream of a Ridiculous Man and ends with an amazing shot of Christine sitting alone in a car with a bright light shining on her from the car's interior. Sasha Andres gives an astonishing performance as this troubled young woman whose yearning for acceptance is so strong that it leads her down a path she never expected to take. The talented French director Siegrid Alnoy has given us an eerie drama that speaks volumes about formidable emotions that are usually considered too hot to handle by less adventuresome filmmakers.
