Helene (Catherine Frot) and Paul (Vincent Lindon), lead busy, bourgeois lives, so busy that they really don’t have time for much apart from work, and a 20-something son, Fabrice (Aurelien Wiik), whose own life is a complicated, fast-paced affair. There is little time in their chaotic lives for anything other than themselves, but everything changes for Helene when she and Paul literally run into Noemie (Rachida Brakni).
Noemie is a hooker, and when she stumbles into the couple’s car pleading with them to let her in, they quickly lock their doors and look on as her pimp assailants catch her up and continue the brutal beating they had already started. Paul is horrified that his car has blood on it, and although Helene shows an initial willingness to call the police or an ambulance, Paul demands that she drop the idea and they flee as the cops arrive anyway.
The image of Noemie being beaten haunts Helene and she decides to find which hospital she is in. Finding Noemie in a coma, and aware that no one else gives a damn about her, she takes leave from work and spends weeks by Noemie’s side while she slowly recovers, never revealing that it was she and her husband who locked their doors when she needed safe haven.
When Noemie is finally able to speak, she tells Helene about her life and why the pimps were trying to beat the living shite out of her, and what a story. Born in Algeria with the name Malika, her parents (an arranged marriage) divorced, her mother hung herself, her father took her to France, tried to sell her as a future bride to a rich old man, she escaped from her father, and had a chance meeting with Touki (Ivan Franek) who threw her into a life of prostitution and heroin.
However, Noemie/Malika was very good at her job, and managed to save money to escape and even invest, until her employers found her to be too good and moving beyond their control. They threw her back on the game and the drugs. Moving to Paris, she became a high-class escort, and this is where her life took the strangest of all its turns. Rich old men, it seems, still have an itch to scratch.
Chaos is centred on the relationship (no, not that sort of relationship) between two very different women. Their lives could not be more different, yet they get from each other something both are lacking, a friend. There are numerous supporting characters, but all have a relevance to the story and, thankfully, keeping track of who is who is pretty easy. The story is an involved and complex one, but not convoluted.
The acting is extremely good, especially from the leads, but all supporting cast manage to give their characters some genuine depth.
Chaos was shot entirely on digital video and generally scrubs up well. The film takes a while to get moving, but when Noemie/Malika finally recovers enough to tell her story, the action is strong, fast and engaging. The chaotic pace of their lives plays second fiddle to the need for revenge. And it’s not just the pimps who are to feel the women’s wrath (relax, this is not a French Thelma and Louise). There is a genuine tension as the film climaxes, with just a tiny loose thread or two that will allow you to draw one or two of your own conclusions. Chaos will reward those that enjoy well-constructed character studies with a genuinely interesting and believable plot.
As mentioned, Chaos was shot on the latest digital video technology and is in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1. It gives the film an up-close feel, and makes the film appear even more frantic in pace. There are no standout issues with the image, with a generally good degree of sharpness but a definite flat video look, and colours and skin tones are natural. Like most video, there is a lot of contrast in the lighting of various scenes.
Black levels are also fine, and shadow detail presents no problems. There are no tape glitches or marks and dirt, and no compression problems.
The layer change is placed between scenes at 90:20.
Although we have been blessed with a French Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track with English subtitles that are easy to read, you will be very hard pressed to notice. That’s not to say it is bad, for it as generally quite good, but anything from the rear channels is as subtle as any surround DVD I have ever heard. I even found myself checking to see if they were still there. I suspect this has been mixed from a stereo source.
Almost all the audio action is from the front speakers, especially the centre channel that carries most if not all the dialogue. There is some separation across the front, which is sufficiently subtle as to be good. There are no big actions scenes as such, and the few times the rear channels are noticeable is during some of the more ambient moments such as in cafes and parks. The subwoofer is as good as absent.
The music is a rather curious mix of modern and classical provided by successful artist St Germain which generally works well.