Wingwomen

Mélanie Laurent, best known for her fiery turn in Inglourious Basterds, directs and stars in this French action-comedy about two lifelong friends and art thieves who want out. Adèle Exarchopoulos plays Alex, a woman tired of the constant risk and moral compromise. She and Carole (Laurent) have been partners for years, pulling off heists across Europe for a ruthless crime boss, La Marraine (Isabelle Adjani). Their plan: one last score to buy their freedom. The target is the Ferrari Crown, a priceless artifact locked in a high-tech vault on the French Riviera. To pull it off, they recruit Sam (Manon Bresch), a young street racer with more nerve than skill.

The film, based on the graphic novel La Grande Odalisque by Bastien Vivès and Florent Ruppert, leans hard on the chemistry between its leads. Exarchopoulos and Laurent are friends in real life, and that ease translates to the screen, their banter feels lived-in, their loyalty earned. Director Laurent keeps the pace brisk, weaving car chases through the hills of Nice and Cannes with a soundtrack that includes Celine Dion and Aya Nakamura. At 114 minutes, Wingwomen is a lean, stylish heist movie that prioritizes character over spectacle.

Produced by Gaumont and released on Netflix internationally after a brief theatrical run in France, the film earned a 6.1 on IMDb from over 500 votes. Critics praised the lead performances but found the plot predictable. It is a solid entry in the female-led heist genre, notable for its focus on a deep, non-romantic friendship, a dynamic still rare in action cinema.[edit]

Alex and Carole have been best friends and partners in crime for as long as they can remember. They work for La Marraine, a powerful and elegant crime boss who treats them like daughters but demands absolute loyalty. Their specialty is art theft, slipping into galleries, disabling alarms, and vanishing with paintings worth millions. But Alex is tired. She wants a normal life: a house, a garden, maybe a dog. She tells Carole she is done.

La Marraine is not the type to let go easily. She offers them a deal: one final job, and they are free. The target is the Ferrari Crown, a legendary jewel-encrusted tiara stored in a private vault owned by a rival crime lord, Clarence. The vault is in the hills above Cannes, guarded by motion sensors, pressure plates, and armed men. To break in, they will need a specialist driver. That is where Sam comes in, a young woman with a reputation for winning illegal street races but zero experience with heists. She is reckless, cocky, and exactly what they need.

The trio begins planning. Alex and Carole case the vault, posing as potential buyers at a nearby art gallery. Sam practices the escape route, a winding coastal road with hairpin turns. But tensions rise. Alex is anxious to leave the life behind; Carole is reluctant to lose her only family. Meanwhile, La Marraine seems to be hiding something. Clarence, too, has his own plans for the crown. The heist is set for the night of a gala, when the vault's security is supposedly lighter. But as they move into position, it becomes clear that nothing about this job is straightforward.[edit]