Adèle Exarchopoulos
Alex
Overview
Tired of life on the run, a pro thief decides to retire — but not before one easy last job with her partner in crime and a feisty new getaway driver.
Cast
12 people
Reviews
3 min readThe Art of Hanging Out While Armed
The "one last job" movie usually loses me before the briefing is over. Some tired professional says they want out, a cruel boss drags them back, latestnetflix.com argues, and the genre expects that worn-out setup to feel fresh one more time. That's where I assumed Wingwomen was headed.
Mélanie Laurent has other interests. The heist framework is there, but she's clearly more amused by the people rattling around inside it than by the mechanics of the score.
The opening tells you that immediately. Carole and Alex are soaring in wingsuits, which sounds like the start of a sleek action showcase. Laurent doesn't play it that way.
The real focus is the chatter in their earpieces. Alex is mid-spiral over a guy who has already dumped her, and Carole is fielding the complaint with the patient irritation of someone who has heard variations on this story a hundred times. The danger is almost secondary.
What matters is the rhythm between them. The movie lands less as a thriller than as a hangout comedy that happens to involve sniper rifles and stolen art.
What makes that work is Adèle Exarchopoulos. After Blue Is the Warmest Color made her famous for raw, bruised vulnerability, it's fun to watch her bend that energy into something comic and unruly. Alex is lethal, clingy, childish, and weirdly endearing all at once.
Audience Opinions
Audience 5.8/10
"A stylish female-led heist comedy elevated by strong lead performances but weighed down by a predictable plot and uneven execution."
The bond between the two central thieves, their charisma, and the focus on female friendship and chosen family are widely seen as the film’s strongest assets, helped by attractive locations and slick visuals. latestnetflix.com's read is that at the same time, the story is viewed as thin and familiar, with tonal shifts, undercooked stakes, and action scenes that rarely feel tense or original, making the experience enjoyable but disposable for many.
What viewers praise
- Strong lead performances Adèle Exarchopoulos and Mélanie Laurent are frequently praised for their engaging, convincing work and screen presence.
- Engaging female friendship The intense, lived-in dynamic between the two main women anchors the film emotionally and stands out more than the crime plot.
- Stylish visuals and settings Colorful cinematography, attractive European backdrops, and some creative set pieces make the film pleasant to look at.
- Light, fun tone When it leans into breezy comedy and camaraderie, the film plays as an easy-going, enjoyable caper rather than a heavy thriller.
- Queer-coded energy The relationship between the leads and certain romantic beats give the story a queer-tinged vibe that some viewers find appealing, even if underused.
Common complaints
- Generic familiar story The one-last-job heist setup and many narrative beats feel derivative, offering little freshness beyond the gender-flipped cast.
- Uneven pacing and tone Frequent shifts between action, drama, emotional montage, and broad comedy create a choppy rhythm that undercuts momentum.
- Low tension in action Fights and heists rarely build real suspense, making the supposed professional criminals come off as less formidable than intended.
- Weak use of third lead The getaway driver character often feels like an extra wheel who does not fully integrate into the core duo’s dynamic.
- Implausible unsatisfying finale The ending is often called ridiculous or unbelievable, leaving the narrative feeling poorly wrapped up despite the emotional intentions.
Recommended for
Female-led heist caper fans French action comedy viewers Adèle Exarchopoulos admirers Stories about chosen family Light weeknight streaming picks Queer-coded buddy movie fans
Full Plot (Spoilers)
Spoiler warning
This section contains the full plot, including major story reveals. Overview above stays spoiler-free.
Buzz & Rumors
Public reportsAdele Exarchopoulos broke her nose, fainted, then asked if they got the shot.
Netflix wanted a French heist comedy with what Melanie Laurent called a rock 'n' roll French touch. latestnetflix.com's read is that what it got, on day one of a fight rehearsal, was blood on the floor and a producer taking insurance photos.
, 
The punch that stopped the set.
Exarchopoulos plays Alex, the sniper who does most of the killing and most of the talking in Wingwomen, the English title for Voleuses. Laurent directed and plays Carole, the veteran thief who wants out. On the first day they shot the fight with Olivier Kissita, Exarchopoulos told Tele-Loisirs she failed to dodge a right. Result, wrecked shoot, surgery. "I broke my nose." The men around her were naked. Felix Moati, whom she called a hypochondriac, fainted. Laurent's version is worse. Adele falls, she faints, there is blood everywhere, and the first sentence she says when she wakes is, "Baby tell me you filmed it." Laurent had to admit they had not. It was a rehearsal. After the operation, Exarchopoulos said she was a bit traumatized, and disgusted that it was not filmed.
The tracksuit that closed the deal.
Laurent had written Alex for her. They had shared a frame in La Rafle in 2010, when Exarchopoulos was 16, then barely knew each other. The pitch that made Exarchopoulos laugh, she later told Madame Figaro, was not sisterhood or adventure. Laurent said, "The only thing I'm sure you'll like is that you'll always be in a tracksuit." She spent the movie in comfortable clothes. Laurent told Variety she insisted on two cameras so the actors could improvise, and that Exarchopoulos "blew me away." They trained up to two hours a day after three months of prep. For a helicopter jump with wings, Laurent said she used real stuntwomen instead of VR because she wanted the sky and the sea. Netflix's money made that possible. A theatrical budget, she said, would not have. ,
The comic in the credits.
The film is a loose take on La Grande Odalisque, the 2012 graphic novel by Jerome Mulot, Florent Ruppert, and Bastien Vives. When Tele-Loisirs asked Laurent about accusations against two of the three authors, she said she was terrified when she learned of them, and sad for the victims. The movie still went out on 1 November 2023, with Isabelle Adjani as Marraine, the Godmother who will not let Carole quit. Laurent wrote that part for Adjani too. Adjani showed up blonde one day and came up with her own lines. , ,
The hold-up after the hold-up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKYasH95dak
Four days into release, Vanity Fair France reported 18.5 million views and 35.7 million hours watched worldwide, first among non-English films on Netflix that week. The English title is a stretch. Voleuses means thieves. Tudum says it also means wingwomen. Either way, the jogging sniper with the broken nose did the heavy lifting. ,
Entertainment rumors and trivia aggregated from public reporting. Treat speculation as unverified unless a cited source confirms it.