A GOOD LITTLE SOLDIER (TIFF 2026) – Review by Rachel West
Alba Rohrwacher gives a commendable performance as a middle manager in the otherwise lethargic workplace drama A Good Little Soldier from Stéphane Brizé.
Screening at Venice and TIFF, A Good Little Soldier centres on human resources manager Carla (Rohrwacher). Every time we see Carla, she is at work at her job. By nature, she is a go-getter, a workhorse who seems to put in hours into her career, devoting all of her time and energy to her company at great cost to her personal life.
The newest employee at a health insurance company, we first meet Carla in a boardroom sequence. The company has produced what it deems to be a “feel-good” recruitment video, doubling down on inclusivity by showcasing able-bodied workers next to differently abled ones. It’s cheesy and tries too hard, but brash CEO Arnaud (Vincent Lindon) slams the so-called “political correctness” of the video. The video should attract winners, he decries, not celebrate a so-called “weakness” he perceives in the images of non-able-bodied employees. Carla, who sides with Arnaud, is now tasked with producing a new video to satisfy him, as she puts this task above all else.
There is not a moment in Brizé’s film in which Carla is not at work. Brizé makes the entire film feel claustrophobic in the cold, uninviting office. She takes her meals here, the lights out after all other coworkers have left for the day, and FaceTimes her young son and ex-husband. She has sacrificed her family to climb the corporate ladder and is now facing down imposter syndrome.
The challenge of balancing work and home life is real, and it is refreshing to see a film about a woman who doesn’t have it all figured out. She has picked sides, and while the film doesn’t place judgment on her for choosing her career, she has slowly pushed her son away in exchange for her biggest triumph at work: creating a cheesy new corporate slogan.
As it turns out, the “Care for our customers, care for our employees” slogan she created is false. When Carla learns that one of the company’s star managers, Madame Laloutte (Carine Rouvier), is verbally abusing the meek Madame Morel (Sandra Le Gall), her attempts to rectify the situation are met with her own ineffectiveness. Like the slogan she coined, what Carla presents to the world is not the reality.
While the themes in A Good Little Soldier are as literal and blunt as they come, it is an overall quiet and subtle drama. Perhaps too subtle. Rohrwacher plays Carla with such steadiness that it feels ineffectual by the time we catch a glimmer of her growing a backbone. She is the titular soldier, toeing the company line until the very last frame, which does not make for a compelling on-screen narrative. The message behind the film feels familiar, but failing to have Carla effectively change through the course of the film renders it into a weak payoff.
Rohrwacher gives Carla depth, but the film never gives her enough room to evolve. A Good Little Soldier raises all the familiar questions about ambition and corporate culture, as well as the sacrifices – especially by women – for their careers. However, the film’s overall restrained approach to these themes leaves it all feeling underdeveloped. By the time the credits roll, the film’s message is clear, but its impact less so.
