Outside the Law
Seen it?2010 | 137 min | Action, Drama, History, War
Weeknight WatchWhy it’s a Weeknight Watch
With almost no lasting buzz and a box office loss, it's a mixed bag. Fine if it's on; don't plan your night around it.
Based on critics, audiences, awards, box office and buzz. Details below.Is it for you?
- Who'll love it
- One for fans of a good revenge story and anyone after some adrenaline. A revenge story, so expect the pressure to build to a reckoning.
- The mood
- Intense.
- The pace
- Character-first and patient, at 2 hr 17 min.
- What might put you off
- It's in French, so expect subtitles (or a dub).
- Skip it if you prefer quiet, talky stories.
After losing their family home in Algeria in the 1920s, three brothers and their mother are scattered across the globe. Messaoud joins the French army fighting in Indochina; Abdelkader becomes a leader of the Algerian independence movement in France and Saïd moves to Paris to make his fortune in the shady clubs and boxing halls of Pigalle.
How it earned its rating
- CriticsSolid
76% on Rotten Tomatoes, 59 on Metacritic
- AudiencesSolid
Our audience score: 58%
- AwardsBelow par
Nominated for 1 Oscar.
- Box office & staying powerBelow par
$4 million worldwide on a $30 million budget; still draws a steady audience long after release
- Buzz & cultural impactWeak
About 9K people sought it out in the past year
Trailer
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Cast & crew
Directed by Rachid Bouchareb
- Jamel DebbouzeSaïd
- Roschdy ZemMessaoud
- Sami BouajilaAbdelkader
- Chafia BoudraaMother
- Bernard BlancanFaivre
- Sabrina SeyvecouHélène
- Assaad BouabAli
- Thibault de MontalembertMorvan
- Samir GuesmiOtmani
- Jean-Pierre LoritPicot