Canet is the casino's lawyer, a seeming straight arrow who is devoted to Agnes' mother and hopes to be vested with the authority to steer the casino to safety. The characters' intense desires are framed within a sedate, workaday context, so that even though the characters' passions drive the action, director Andre Techine lends the film an appealing illusion of calm. The white beaches, the incredible light of the French Riviera - these form the backdrop and create a sense that, sooner or later, everyone will just go swimming and that will be the end of their troubles.