It tells the story of a man in his sixties who is released after a long prison sentence, and tries to have a relationship with a younger woman, while still determined to live outside the law.
[1][2] Arte's Olivier Père wrote in 2012 that while the main character is a rebel of a type already seen in Blain's previous films, the director here deviates from genre conventions more heavily than before.
Père wrote: "More surprising is the radicality of the directing which exposes the extremist discourse of the film.
In great rigour, it evokes the cinematography of Robert Bresson, admittedly referenced by Blain throughout his whole filmography."
Père continued: "With its rigorous aesthetics and moral, Jusqu’au bout de la nuit distinguishes itself from all and sundry of the French cinematic output of its time.