Things to Come – Film Review by Charlotte Reid
Directed by Mia Hansen-Løve
Starring Isabelle Huppert, André Marcon, Roman Kolinka

Nathalie is a philosophy teacher, smart and independent, she has carved out a successful and comfortable life with her husband and two children in Paris. But with her unstable mother becoming increasingly erratic, her job ending and after an unexpected divorce, she finds her life has been turned upside down. Talking to her old student Fabien, Nathalie says there is more to life than just philosophy, but she has to learn to listen to her own advice and see that intellect isn’t everything.

Switching between Paris and Fabien’s home in the mountains, this film is a truly picturesque view of France, even though its political references show the reality isn’t quite as idyllic. The protesting students at the start seem to give an impression this is going to be just as much about France as it is about Nathalie, but it doesn’t play out this way. Being in nearly every scene, Nathalie is our only focus here, but I couldn’t help feeling she was a little emotionally stunted. It seems like her world is falling apart and yet she remains fine, the rare moments she is overwhelmed, the film cuts and takes us to another day. When she leaves her mother at a care home she holds back the tears in the car afterwards, remembering the “smell of death”, instead of lingering though it’s on to the next scene. Maybe this is deliberate as we see Nathalie open up more emotionally towards the end, but it feels a little frustrating. As the whole film revolves around her journey, we’re desperate to love her character and feel what she’s feeling, but we rarely get the opportunity.

While this attitude keeps her remote, she also has an air of empowerment throughout. It’s a refreshing change to see a film with a strong female lead that isn’t secretly laced with her need for romance. She feels foolish when she separates from her husband, but is not on a mission to replace him. I got the impression that it’s her mother that plays on her mind, and her growing fondness of her cat Pandora isn’t her descent isn’t spinsterhood, but represents how she wishes she could have been a more caring daughter.

This film shows how life can change in an instant even when it’s been stable for years. For women especially, this is an under-represented topic, and I think its lesson about family relationships is present throughout, without ever laying it on too thick. However Nathalie’s stoic nature leaves the film a bit cold. Even though it changes by the third act, for me it feels a little late, watchable as it is.