Character Relationship Map: Thieves

Characters

• Marie Leblanc (played by Catherine Deneuve) — protagonist

  A philosophy professor who is romantically involved with Juliette. After Juliette's emotional collapse following the heist, Marie has her committed to a psychiatric clinic. She forms a distant allianc...

• Alex (played by Daniel Auteuil) — supporting

  A police officer who rebelled against his criminal family. He engages in a complicated affair with Juliette while investigating her brother's auto theft ring. After his brother dies in a botched heist...

• Juliette Fontana (played by Laurence Côte) — supporting

  The sister of auto thief Jimmy and the lover of both Alex and Marie. Coerced into a railway heist that results in her boyfriend's death, she suffers severe trauma and suicide attempts. After being hos...

• Jimmy Fontana (played by Benoît Magimel) — supporting

  Juliette's brother who leads a stolen-auto ring that funds his brother's nightclub. He opposes Juliette's participation in the heist. After the crime boss's death, he maintains a good relationship wit...

• Mireille (played by Fabienne Babe) — supporting

  The young mother and widow of the crime boss. She is deeply grieving at the story's start. After the heist tragedy, she eventually remarries Juliette's brother to rebuild her life and provide stabilit...

• Justin (played by Julien Rivière) — supporting

  A young boy living with his mother and grandfather. He witnesses the funeral, hides his father's gun, and initially mistrusts his cop uncle. He later learns the truth about the death, bonds with the a...

• Victor (played by Ivan Desny) — supporting

  The widower grandfather who delivers the news of the father's death to the young boy. He later reveals the true circumstances surrounding the death, helping the child understand the family's tragic hi...

Canonical Relationships

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

• Jimmy Fontana → Mireille (Family Future Spouses) — Jimmy's decision to marry Mireille points toward a new family arrangement after the heist's losses.

  The plot states that Jimmy decides to marry Mireille, who is the widow of the crime boss.

• Juliette Fontana → Jimmy Fontana (Family Sister And Brother) — Jimmy objects to Juliette being drawn into the heist, but she participates despite his opposition and is devastated by its outcome.

  The plot identifies Jimmy as Juliette's brother and says he opposes her participation in the railway heist.

• Mireille → Justin (Family Mother And Son) — Mireille and Justin face the family tragedy together, with Mireille grieving as Justin learns about his father's death.

  The plot identifies Mireille as Justin's mother and describes her crying when Justin is told of his father's death.

• Alex → Justin (Family Untrusted Uncle) — Alex attempts to build a bond with his nephew, but Justin's mistrust and hostility keep them apart.

  Alex is Justin's uncle. After the cremation, Alex tries to connect with Justin, but Justin threatens him with an air-rifle and does not like him.

• Marie Leblanc → Juliette Fontana (Romantic Lovers) — Marie cares for Juliette through her collapse after the heist, arranges for her hospitalization, and later writes a book about her while trying to protect her from a distance.

  Juliette is described as emotionally and sexually involved with Marie, a professor of philosophy.

• Alex → Juliette Fontana (Romantic Complicated Lovers) — Their affair overlaps with Alex's police work and Juliette's involvement in the criminal world; after the heist and her disappearance, Alex searches for her but ultimately leaves her undisturbed when...

  After meeting Juliette when she is brought to Alex's police office for shoplifting, Alex later sees her at the nightclub and they begin a regular sexu...

• Victor → Justin (Family Grandfather) — Victor first delivers the news of the loss and later helps Justin understand the circumstances behind it.

  Victor is Justin's widower grandfather and tells him that his father is dead. Later, Victor reveals the truth about the death.

Story Dynamics

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

• Jimmy Fontana → Justin (Social Affectionate Bond) — In contrast to Justin's mistrust of Alex, he has a warm connection with Jimmy.

  The plot states that Justin gets along very well with Jimmy.

• Alex → Marie Leblanc (Alliance Protective Allies) — They share information about Juliette and maintain a cautious alliance centered on her safety.

  Marie and Alex develop an uneasy friendship and both try, from a distance, to protect Juliette.

Story Analysis

A family tragedy unfolds through crime, troubled intimacy, grief, and the difficult choice to let a survivor rebuild her life.

Plot Progression

1. A Funeral and a Hidden Past — Justin hears of his father's death, hides the gun, and encounters Alex and Juliette at the funeral. The story moves backward to trace Alex and Juliette's earlier connection.
2. Desire Alongside Crime — Alex and Juliette begin an affair, complicated by Juliette's relationship with Marie and her ties to Jimmy's stolen-car operation. Juliette becomes involved in the planned railway-yard theft despite J...
3. The Heist's Devastating Cost — The railway-yard theft goes wrong, leaving Juliette's boyfriend and a security guard dead. Juliette's grief leads to suicide attempts and her hospitalization under Marie's care.
4. Truth, Distance, and Survival — While Juliette disappears, Justin confronts Alex and learns more about his father's death from Victor. Alex and Marie try to protect Juliette, but Marie dies; Alex later finds Juliette living quietly...