Common Sense Media Review
By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
French comedy about classism has language, violence.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 14+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
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Gold Brick
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
In GOLD BRICK, Daniel (Raphael Quenard) has always sneered as the wealthy Breuil family, owner of a major perfume packaging company, has handed down the town's major employer from father to undeserving son. The economy of Chartres, the French town known for its cathedral, is dominated by this elite group, and no one in the working class can make a living without taking a job with the corrupt and unfair Breuils. Daniel has vowed never to work there, but circumstances require that he take a job at the plant, where unskilled workers must give bosses kickbacks or be fired. Daniel hatches a plan to steal substantial amounts of luxury inventory without being detected. The enterprise grows to net him and a tight crew of cohorts more than two million dollars a year. Meanwhile, Patrick Breuil (Antoine Gouy) has just become the inept CEO after his father's untimely death. He's been persuaded by his treacherous wife to sell the company to her secret lover, a rival discounter. When Breuil discovers that the buyer is sabotaging the company in order to buy it for a song, he teams up with thief Daniel to ruin the sale and set up the company's workers to take over the business.
Is It Any Good?
Gold Brick has a lot in common with the 2001 Ocean's Eleven in its complex, hard-to-follow plotting, scams, and cleverness. Eventually, the details dissolve into an incomprehensible blur. In short order, we stop understanding the particulars of the plot to overthrow unsympathetic corporate villains and turn unskilled working-class employees into wealthy people. All that matters is that we root for the underdogs and that their scheme succeeds in overturning the socioeconomic tyranny of a family dynasty that has dominated a small French town for generations.
Unfortunately, none of the relationships are particularly well-defined or nuanced. None of the characters demonstrate any great depth. Expect no more than a pleasant but inconsequential 96 minutes of scheming, violence, language, and vengeance.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about whether committing crimes in order to level a long-uneven playing field is justified. Do you think it's OK for poor people to steal from the rich? Why, or why not?
What political points does the film try to make as it pits workers against a factory owner?
What does the movie say about trusting criminal cohorts? Can people willing to commit crimes be trusted as partners? Why, or why not?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : July 6, 2023
- Cast : Raphael Quenard , Antoine Gouy , Agathe Rousselle
- Director : Jeremie Rozan
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Netflix
- Genre : Comedy
- Run time : 96 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : August 1, 2023
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