“Masterful Losses of Control: A Look at 10 Films and Series, including Lee Sung-Jin’s Acharnés, Breaking Bad and Taxi Driver”

2023-04-16 15:00:18

In Lee Sung-Jin’s series, everything goes wrong following a simple honk of the horn. From “Taxi Driver” to “Breaking Bad” via “Skirt Day”, here are ten films and series that depict masterful losses of control.

Amy (Ali Wong) and Isaac (David Choe) shine with a thousand lights in “Acharnés”, on Netflix. Photo Andrew Cooper/Netflix

By Pierre Langlais

Published on April 16, 2023 at 5:00 p.m.

Amy and Danny, two complete strangers, almost collide in the parking lot of a supermarket. Three honks and a middle finger later, they are at war… The Netflix series, with the “relentless” Ali Wong and Steven Yeun, follows a formidable tragicomic spiral, while skillfully revealing the malaise that hides under the heatstroke of his characters.

The cinema is full of criminal or comic, brutal or absurd “cracking” films. The series, because they must last and deliver a more in-depth psychological study of their heroes, often go beyond pure slippage. From societal metaphor to horrific nightmare, a look back at five feature films and five series that send everything waltzing.

“Breaking Bad” (2008-2013)

One fine morning, a chemistry teacher becomes a drug lord.  With Bryan Cranston.

One fine morning, a chemistry teacher becomes a drug lord. With Bryan Cranston. Sony Pictures TV

The fall of Walter White (fascinating Bryan Cranston) is not really one. By giving up his life as a loser to become a drug lord, this chemistry teacher cracks up to rebuild himself better and in fine take on the change in life. Breaking Bad nevertheless remains the most famous fall in the history of the series, where everything is shattered: health, couple, family, job and a growing number of human lives.

“Free Fall” (1993)

A traffic jam, then the hostage taking (Michael Douglas).

A traffic jam, then the hostage taking (Michael Douglas). Warner Bros.

As in fierce, it all starts here in a car. A man who looks like an office worker, wearing a strict suit and glasses, is stuck in a traffic jam. Suddenly, he breaks down, gets out of his vehicle and takes a grocer hostage… Behind the face-to-face between Michael Douglas and Robert Duvall – in the role of a cop in charge of tracking him down, also frustrated – Joel’s thriller Schumacher can be read as an ideologically questionable self-defense anthem.

“Drifts” (2020)

Since he loses his footing, everything will collapse with him (Alex Lutz and Éric Cantona).

Since he loses his footing, everything will collapse with him (Alex Lutz and Éric Cantona). Photo Stephanie Branchu

An unemployed executive (Éric Cantona), tired of humiliating interviews, arrives armed in a multinational run by a cynical boss (Alex Lutz)… This miniseriesadaptation of a novel by Pierre Lemaitre by director Ziad Doueiri (Black Baron)mixes thriller and social drama through the portrait of an ordinary man who loses his footing, crushed by the system, and decides to destroy it without worrying regarding his future or those of his loved ones.

“Uncontrolled Skids” (2002)

The road definitely causes a lot of

The road definitely causes a lot of “uncontrolled skids” (Samuel L. Jackson). United International Pictures (UIP)

The road is definitely the best place to lose control. In this Roger Mitchell film, a lawyer (Ben Affleck) and an insurance agent (Samuel L. Jackson) clash in New York City following a run-in on their way to court. Their efforts to destroy the other lead, this time, to an ethical reflection and an optimistic morality.

“Skirt Day” (2009)

A very pissed off middle school teacher (Isabelle Adjani) declares a “Skirt Day”.

A very pissed off middle school teacher (Isabelle Adjani) declares a “Skirt Day”. Rezo Movies

Broadcast by Arte and then in the cinema, this Franco-Belgian TV film by Jean-Paul Lilienfeld features a theater teacher from a suburban college (Isabelle Adjani) who, following finding a gun in the bag of one of her students , takes his class hostage. She pushes them to think regarding their place in society, machismo, racism… A fable regarding the fears that are rooted in everyday life and to which we end up getting used, which slowly drifts towards tragedy.

“Profit” (1996)

Adrian Pasdar and Lisa Zane.  An assistant director of acquisitions in a multinational is ready to do anything to crush his competitors.

Adrian Pasdar and Lisa Zane. An assistant director of acquisitions in a multinational is ready to do anything to crush his competitors. Fox Network

Precursor series of the wave of antiheroes of the 2000s, this icy drama follows the very dubious actions of Jim Profit (Adrian Pasdar), deputy director of acquisitions in a multinational. A solitary, insensitive man who uses extreme methods (blackmail, corruption, extortion, etc.) to bring down his competitors. A Bret Easton Ellis-style crack that would probably have gotten worse if the series hadn’t been canceled following only a handful of episodes, too shocking for its time.

“The Punisher” (2017-2019)

A bloody revenge with Marvel sauce.

A bloody revenge with Marvel sauce. Photo Cara Howe/Netflix

Frank Castle, a former elite soldier, meticulously eliminates all those who are directly or indirectly linked to the death of his family… This Marvel series falls into the often ambiguous category of stories of bloody revenge. Die-hard, very dark, slow, she skilfully plays with a form of unease. There’s something disturbing regarding getting excited regarding the quest of this talionist, whose attacks are as brutal as they are entertaining.

“Run” (2020)

They dump everything.  But will romance be at the end of the tunnel?  Domhnall Gleeson and Merritt Carmen Wever.

They dump everything. But will romance be at the end of the tunnel? Domhnall Gleeson and Merritt Carmen Wever. HBO

The first moments of this dramatic comedy produced by Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag) gave hope for a wild romantic comedy, where two former lovers abandon their respective lives. The desire to drop everything to get out of a sad daily life, have fun, love each other, leads here to a series of increasingly enormous disasters. And the crack drowns in its own excesses, so much so that Run didn’t get a season 2.

“Shining” (1980)

Horror, misfortune (Shelley Duvall).

Horror, misfortune (Shelley Duvall). Warner Bros – Hawks – Peregrine

” Hi darling ! » No fictional swing into murderous madness is as terrifying as that of Jack Torrance, an uninspired writer hired for a winter as the janitor of a large isolated Colorado hotel. Stanley Kubrick, by adapting Stephen King, sublimates the story of possession and makes us feel from the inside the collapse of his hero (Jack Nicholson, at the top of his game).

“Taxi Driver” (1976)

A former marine turned taxi driver (Robert De Niro) decides to clean up New York.

A former marine turned taxi driver (Robert De Niro) decides to clean up New York. Columbia – Italo-Judea

Martin Scorsese’s Palme d’Or is also the most famous skid in the history of cinema. That of an old marine become a taxi driver (huge De Niro), a crude, uneducated type, who becomes a time bomb who would like to “clean up” New York. His downfall, which ranges from an assassination attempt to the rescue of a young prostitute, leads to an ironic conclusion: in a crazy country, the madness of such a man can only be celebrated.

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