Brighter Days Ahead
Director: Marion Vernoux
Starring: Fanny Ardant, Laurent Lafitte, Patrick Chesnais
94 mins; Class 14;
Eden Cinemas

This little French film has plenty of promise but sadly does not quite deliver, falling short of being a great film simply for tackling its subject matter a tad superficially.

French acting veteran Fanny Ardant stars as Caroline, a dentist recently retired with too much time on her hands.

Her daughters enrol her in a senior citizens’ club, but the ceramics and amateur theatre classes don’t entice her.

The centre’s computer teacher Julien (Laurent Lafitte), a man her daughters’ age, certainly does, though. It’s not long before they embark on an affair which awakens in Caroline a lease of life she thought long dormant – but is it worth the risk to her marriage?

One would imagine that this is a film the French could turn out effortlessly. Yet, despite the subject matter and a superb performance from Ardant – who shines and makes the film her own – it is a very superficial exercise with good-looking protagonists, a picturesque seaside town, many engaging and funny supporting characters, and not much else.

The fault lies mainly in the script by Marion Vernoux (who also directs) and Fanny Chesnel, who fail to dig deeply into Caroline’s mind, leaving too many questions unanswered.

Tackles subject matter superficially

This is clearly a smart, sophisticated woman at a loose end, certainly, but we are never given proper insight as to why she feels she has to turn to another man.

Her husband Philippe (Patrick Chesnair) is depicted as being a devoted husband, her two daughters are close to her, and her cute grandchildren amuse her. Mention is made of Caroline’s best friend, who died months earlier leaving her heartbroken, yet it does not go further than that. Much is left unsaid, but also unclear. So, an opportunity to really explore the onset of old age and the challenges of retirement are well and truly missed.

The same can be said of the excitement and inherent danger of adultery. Caroline seems unconcerned about keeping the relationship a secret, which results in no suspense surrounding the affair.

Moreover, Lafitte’s Julien comes across as a stereotypical younger lover, and his performance is a little one-note.

The character shifts from pursuer to quarry in this little liaison - at one point he claims to have had a crush on Caroline since he was a pimply youth; at others seemingly bored by it all, yet in Lafitte’s performance, the ardour is not convincing, and crucially, the chemistry between the two is lacking. Ardant makes up for this in an appealing performance in which she captures Caroline’s loneliness and inevitable resignation that the affair may not last very long.

She is funny, witty and self-deprecating, and effortlessly embodies a 60-something woman for whom one chapter has ended but whose needs to start the next one are not being fulfilled.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.