‘Her Job’ Humbly & Beautifully Celebrates The Dignity Of Work [TIFF Review]

The timing couldn’t be better for Greek filmmaker Nikos Labôt’s feature debut “Her Job.” Former “The Cosby Show” supporting actor Geoffrey Owens was recently outed for having a job at Trader Joe’s in a mean-spirited Fox News report. The internet promptly broke, with fellow actors rallying behind Owens, sharing their tales of working regular jobs between acting gigs, while Fox was rightfully shamed for their salacious reporting. Owens has used the sudden spotlight to offer his sincere hope that through the conversation that has been stated that “we start honoring the dignity of work and the dignity of the working person.” It’s a sentiment that’s echoed wonderfully in this beautifully reserved drama, that contains a stirring warmth beneath its tougher exterior.

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Stoicism is the default setting for Panayiota (Marisha Triantafyllidou), who is quietly keeping the threads of her fractured household together. Money is tight, with the Greek economic crisis leaving her husband Kostas (Dimitris Imellos) unemployed, and pawning their possessions for cash. Their teenage daughter Georgia is in the ugly throes of early teenagehood and has little time to consider any domestic troubles that are plainly visible. Meanwhile, their six-year-old son Apostolis clings to his mother, sensing that something isn’t quite right, though too young to process what it could be. The situation isn’t ideal, but there’s nonetheless a familial balance, even if Panayiota carries much of the burden of running the house, with her face never wavering from an expression of wan fortitude. However, that dissonant harmony is soon upset by a turn of good fortune.

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One morning, Panayiota is informed by a neighbor that a new mall is opening, and they’re looking for cleaners. Despite being semi-literate and having no work experience, marrying Kostas when she was young and moving immediately from her small village to the big city to raise a family, Panayiota goes for an interview. In what is a first of many marvelously small miracle moments in the picture, Triantafyllidou ever so slightly breaks Panayiota’s blanched expression during the interview, betraying her thrill at an opportunity to have an existence outside her home. The first time Panayiota actually smiles is after she’s hired, and she proudly holds her nametag, and it’s like a switch has turned on a light, illuminating “Her Job.” Scrubbing toilets and monotonously cleaning floors open a door for Panayiota to the community of colleagues, the friendship of other women, and the satisfaction of doing work that earns the kind of admiration she rarely receives elsewhere.

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Back at home, Kostas can hardly bear to acknowledge the contribution Panayiota is making to the household. Threatened and shamed by his wife becoming the breadwinner, Kostas is not only unappreciative of the economic boost brought by his wife but blind to the welcome adjustments the children are making to the situation. Kostas only offers condescending support at best, figuring Panayiota’s fling with employment is temporary until he finds work, and everyone can return to their routines. However, Panayiota is not so willing to immediately agree to let go of her entry into a world that the burden of traditional gender roles has long sealed her off from.

Co-written with subtle elegance by Labôt and Katerina Kleitsioti, they unfold Panayiota’s growing, multi-threaded world in modest doses, wisely leaving it in the capable hands of Triantafyllidou to communicate the violent changes occurring within the character with the smallest of gestures. In a genuinely stirring and remarkable performance, Triantafyllidou expresses Panayiota’s evolving strength of spirit and independence in the tiniest of measures; a shift in her countenance or an adjustment in how she carries herself. It’s a Herculean turn by the actress, made all the more so because you can hardly see the muscles she’s using.

Behind the camera, Labôt is equally modulated, unfolding the story with patient care across a slim eighty-nine minutes, and never betraying his tone for a grand finale of redemption and lesson-learning. The filmmaking is as understated as Triantafyllidou’s performance, but that doesn’t mean you’re left at a distance. Witnessing the spark of confidence come to life inside Panayiota, and the small rebellions that follow will leave your eyes stung with tears by the note-perfect ending. “Her Job” is not just about the dignity of work, but what the gift of employment can do to the dignity of a person. Panayiota is forever transformed by a janitorial role she treasures for its ability to allow her to tangibly provide for her family while wrapping her in a sense of self-worth she perhaps never knew she could obtain. But more importantly, Panayiota establishes an identity for herself that is no longer defined by the four walls of her home, her husband, and children. The possibilities for her future are excitingly endless. [B+]

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