Kino Lorber shared the official trailer for La Syndicaliste (The Sitting Duck), the French thriller starring Isabelle Huppert as Maureen Kearney, the head union representative of a French multinational nuclear powerhouse who becomes a whistle-blower and places her life in extreme danger.
The film is based on a true story recounted in the book of the same name written by Caroline Michel-Aguirre.
Also starring in the film are Grégory Gadebois, François-Xavier Demaison, Pierre Deladonchamps, Alexandra Maria Lara, Gilles Cohen, Marina Foïs, and Yvan Attal
Release Date
Directed by Jean-Paul Salomé, La Syndicaliste world premiered at the 79th Venice International Film Festival, and opens in theaters with a release date of December 1, 2023
Synopsis
An investigative thriller set in the world of nuclear power and corrupt politics, The Sitting Duck follows the true story of Maureen Kearney (Isabelle Huppert), the influential head union representative of a French multinational nuclear powerhouse. A deft navigator of elite political and financial circles, Maureen becomes a whistleblower when she discovers international backroom dealings, exposing secrets that shook the French nuclear sector. Fighting against government ministers and industry leaders, Maureen worked tirelessly to bring the scandal to light and defend thousands of jobs until she was violently sexually assaulted in her own home, seemingly targeted for her attempts to reveal the truth. As her attack is investigated, new elements create doubt in the minds of detectives and lawyers, and they begin to see Maureen not as a victim, but as a suspect. Surrounded by powerful enemies and unable to trust anyone, Maureen must fight to clear her name.
Reviews
In their review, Variety highlighted Huppert’s acting writing, “A gritted, committed Huppert plays Kearney’s fury at a low, passive-aggressive temperature that appropriately rejects grand emotional flourishes: Such flinty cool is what turned the law against Kearney to begin with. Still, we never get under Kearney’s skin either; her interior tumult is observed from a distance as tasteful and impersonal as DP Julien Hirsch’s conventionally composed, evenly lit midshots. “The Sitting Duck” sacrifices discomfort and idiosyncrasy as a character study to more plainly valorize a done-wrong woman of the people. But it’s at least rousing on those terms, directing our anger at all the most deserving targets, all while retaining its own slightly bland calm.”
Deadline’s review concurred, “Huppert, who can convey an ocean of feeling with the twitch of an eyebrow, embodies this unassuming heroism so effectively that you hardly notice that a much bigger story has been allowed to become a blur. There is plenty of the clutter of the police thriller: tiny twists and turns in the investigation, her decision to confess and then to withdraw the confession, her meetings with this lawyer and then that one, her wavering discussions about whether or not to appeal. It is never less than intriguing, but this accumulation of events makes the film feel curiously longer than it is.”
Official Trailer
Watch the official trailer for La Syndicaliste.