Character Relationship Map: Going Places

Characters

• Jean-Claude (played by Gérard Depardieu) — protagonist

  Jean-Claude is one of the two violent male leads, traveling with Pierrot during a series of thefts, assaults, carjackings, and escapes. He overpowers a car owner, kidnaps Marie-Ange, helps exploit and...

• Marie-Ange (played by Miou-Miou) — protagonist

  Marie-Ange is initially kidnapped by Jean-Claude and Pierrot after they steal a car, then repeatedly subjected to their sexual coercion and violence. Although she is passive at first, she later helps...

• Pierrot (played by Patrick Dewaere) — supporting

  Pierrot is Jean-Claude's partner in the criminal journey. After being shot in the groin during a car theft, he forces a doctor to treat him, fears impotence, and participates in repeated assaults, rob...

• Jacqueline (played by Isabelle Huppert) — minor

  Jacqueline is the daughter of the family whose holiday home Jean-Claude and Pierrot enter while hiding at a coastal resort. They discover her bathing suit and later recognize her when she travels with...

• Bruno, surgeon (played by Michel Peyrelon) — supporting

  Bruno is the doctor whom Jean-Claude and Pierrot stop at gunpoint after Pierrot is shot. They force him to examine and treat Pierrot's wounds, which prove superficial, then rob him of his money before...

• Bruno's wife (played by Eva Damien) — supporting

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Bruno's wife → Bruno, surgeon (wife)
• Jean-Claude → Jacqueline (Romantic Sexual Partner) — Their brief sexual encounter occurs during the final road journey.

  Jean-Claude and Pierrot take Jacqueline with them after her father strikes her, and they deflower her before leaving her on the roadside.

• Pierrot → Jacqueline (Romantic Sexual Partner) — The encounter is presented as a sexual relationship shaped by coercive circumstances.

  After taking Jacqueline from her family, Jean-Claude and Pierrot deflower her, and the plot identifies her as the Jacqueline connected to the vacation...

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Pierrot → Marie-Ange (Conflict Captive Abuser) — Pierrot exercises coercive control over Marie-Ange.

  Pierrot participates in forcing Marie-Ange to have sex with both men and later remains involved when she is held during their criminal travels.

• Jean-Claude → Marie-Ange (Conflict Kidnapper) — Their relationship begins through violent abduction.

  After overpowering the DS owner, Jean-Claude steals the car and kidnaps Marie-Ange, taking her with him and Pierrot.

• Jean-Claude → Pierrot (Alliance Teammate) — They operate as a persistent criminal pair.

  Jean-Claude and Pierrot repeatedly commit robberies, steal cars, evade police, and travel together throughout the film.

Story Analysis

Two violent drifters move through theft, coercion, sexual exploitation, and murder while their road journey continually expands.

Plot Progression

1. Violence Takes the Road — Jean-Claude and Pierrot begin with assault, theft, and a stolen DS. A gun confrontation wounds Pierrot and brings Marie-Ange into their orbit.
2. Flight and Exploitation — The pair force medical treatment, exchange cars, and sabotage the DS. They evade police while repeatedly exploiting Marie-Ange and seeking refuge.
3. Marie-Ange's Resistance — Their return to Marie-Ange produces further coercion and a violent shooting at her workplace. Their attempts to control sexual encounters continue to fail emotionally.
4. A Brief Intimacy — Jean-Claude and Pierrot recruit Jeanne and experience an apparently passionate interlude. Jeanne's suicide abruptly turns the encounter into another flight.
5. Murder and More Roads — They deceive Jacques, whose meeting with a prison warden ends in murder. Marie-Ange chooses to remain with them as the group continues stealing cars.
6. Jacqueline on the Run — The travelers exchange cars with a family and take Jacqueline after a conflict with her father. They have sex with her, leave her roadside, and continue on.