WHEN FALL IS COMING

(Check out Chris Reed’s When Fall Is Coming movie review, It starts April 4 at Film Forum before a nationwide rollout. Join the conversation with HtN on our Letterboxd Page.)

When Fall Is Coming, the new film from French director François Ozon (The Crime Is Mine), continues the cineaste’s long tradition of crafting complicated onscreen women and hiring excellent actresses to play them. Here, veterans Hélène Vincent (The Astronaut) and Josiane Balasko (Tralala) star as Michelle and Marie-Claude, best friends of many years now residing in a small town south of Paris after earlier lives in the capital. Comfortable in retirement, they enjoy such simple pleasures as gathering mushrooms in each other’s company, even as they regret the mistakes of the past, especially those they made with their respective children.

Marie-Claude’s son, Vincent (Pierre Lottin, The Marching Band), is in prison as the story begins, and Michelle’s daughter, Valérie (Ludivine Sagnier, The Hive), appears to actively dislike her mother while simultaneously demanding everything from her. Michelle tolerates the abuse since it means she can spend time with grandson Lucas. We assume that there’s history between them that explains the bad blood, though as yet remain unaware of the true cause (beyond the usual difficulties between parents and kids).

Michelle’s rural idyll is spoiled during one of Valérie’s visits because some of her  mushrooms prove poisonous, sending Valérie to the hospital, where she nearly dies. Furious, Valérie leaves with Lucas in tow, vowing to never return. Distraught, Michelle tries to mend things. The question remains, however, as to whether the poisoning was an accident, an intentional deed, or the mistake of an elderly mind; perhaps it was a blurred combination of all three.

Meanwhile, Vincent is finally set free. Needing help around the house, Michelle offers him work, and soon the two draw closer as he fills the gap left by Lucas’ absence. Still, Vincent is clearly not quite stable, though he wants to stay on the good side of the law. Seeing Michelle suffer may push him over that line.

Ozon, as always, keeps his cinematic cards close to his chest, revealing only so much at any given point in the narrative. Even when we think we know what happens after Vincent finally acts, it soon becomes clear that we don’t yet grasp all the details. By the film’s conclusion, mysteries remain. Decide for yourself who did what and why.

Hélène Vincent delivers a fully moving performance as Michelle. Especially poignant are her later scenes, Michelle revealing—to us and to the police—the truth about her former life. Balasko also shines, as do Lottin and Sagnier (in a very unsympathetic role). The ending is a bit abrupt, but beyond that sudden finish this meditation on aging, parental love and parental control offers a twisty, engaging and dramatic ride. As a bonus, the location, in France’s Burgundy region, is gorgeous.

– Christopher Llewellyn Reed (@ChrisReedFilm)

Film Forum; François Ozon; When Fall Is Coming

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