When Fall Is Coming Film Review
“When Fall Is Coming” is all about an incident involving some toxic mushrooms that were inadvertently ingested. Sound familiar? While we could sit here and make a big thing about the fungi, in actual fact we should be talking about onions because this French film is layered with endless bits of subtlety, much like that particular vegetable.
François Ozon (“Swimming Pool”) writes and directs this dramatic film. Ozon is a master at fashioning together dramas that explore human behaviour and its subtleties. With “Fall Is Coming,” he lets audiences know little nuggets of information about each of these complex characters to reveal what are ultimately some rather messy lives with realistic and complex family dynamics.
Hélène Vincent is an absolute star here and she carries this film. She plays a homely grandmother named Michelle Giraud who lives in the French countryside. She is a woman of simple pleasures: going to church, cooking tasty meals, and spending time gardening. It seems like an idyllic life, until one day she participates in a calamitous lunch with her mean-spirited daughter, Valérie Tessier (a fiery, Ludivine Sagnier) and her sweet, doe-eyed grandson (Garlan Erlos).
Tessier is inadvertently poisoned at lunch. She is enraged and accuses her mother of trying to cause her harm. The pair seem to have a lot of simmering resentments between them (and these make more sense as the film continues). Tessier decides to callously cut Giraud off from her grandson, which is devastating to each of them.
But Giraud seeks solace in her best friend, Marie-Claude (Josiane Balasko). The latter has a son who is soon-to-be released from prison (an enigmatic and big-hearted Pierre Lottin). Giraud decides to employ him for some jobs around her house. This is one of many good intentions that several characters in this film will have. But suffice to say these things have different consequences, which we won’t spoil here.
This handsome drama is one that will make audiences think. Ozon is like a master craftsman, revealing new pieces of information and plot twists, as required. This gives things a tense and atmospheric air. It makes for one intricately, complicated story. There are several questions posed and themes such as second chances, familial responsibilities and regrets are all tackled with aplomb.
“When Fall Is Coming” poses some interesting questions to its audience. It is a slow-burning drama that is nuanced and highly mysterious at times. Most of the characters are likeable, so you do become invested in their lives. The film is ultimately a really well-honed character study that explores whether wrongs from the past can ever make things right in the present.
About the Author
Natalie Salvo Natalie is a Sydney-based writer and lover of all things music, food, photography comedy, art, theatre. You can find her digging in crates at good record stores.
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