Things to Come
Composite Score: 81.33
Starring: Isabelle Huppert, André Marcon, Roman Kolinka, Edith Scob, Sarah Le Picard, and Solal Forte
Director: Mia Hansen-Løve
Writer: Mia Hansen-Løve
Genres: Drama, Tragedy
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for brief language and drug use
Box Office: $5.64 million worldwide
Why should you Watch This Film?
Things to Come tells the story of Nathalie, a middle-aged French philosophy teacher who suffers three major tragedies over the span of a few months. It explores the grieving process, adult relationships, and mid-life crises in an intimate and surprisingly hopeful look into this woman’s life. Well-acted and filled with references to French and European philosophy and questions about modern issues and how we approach the future, Things to Come is a simple but solid watch.
Why shouldn’t you Watch This Film?
The biggest issue with Things to Come is its lack of satisfying resolution, which some viewers will no doubt complain about. While intentional, allowing the viewers to determine what they will about the “things to come” for Nathalie makes this a film that will not satisfy every audience member. The point of the film is not the resolution, but many movie watchers want that, making such an ending less approachable for the average viewer. In doing so, Things to Come exemplifies the modern argument that film is a new form of literature, and not everyone enjoys partaking of literature on a regular basis. This is probably a film for when you are in the mood to watch a “FILM”. Also, it is mostly in French.
So wait, why should you Watch This Film?
Things to Come is praiseworthy for its excellent exploration of the difficult situations we face in life and the ways that we continue to overcome with hope. There is an understanding that despite Nathalie’s loss of her mother, her marriage, and her book deal (primary source of income) that she has not changed who she is at her core. We even see her exploring new ideas and lifestyles and discovering that, in fact, they are old to her and something she has already tried. We see her rejection of spiraling and the hope that comes from the other relationships in her life. There is an incredibly positive view of supportive oppositional relationships. Viewers can see in the film the ways in which people with opposing views and lifestyles can still live in harmony and even as friends with one another. The relational aspect of Nathalie’s recovery from the tragedies of her life should encourage every audience to pursue real relationship.
Isabelle Huppert’s performance as Nathalie draws even an English-speaking audience into her character. She goes through the stages of grief with her mother’s death in a very real and raw way. She handles her husband’s infidelity and subsequent break-up of her marriage with a stoicism and resilience that keeps the audience rooting for her throughout. Even as we see her book deal collapsing, Huppert’s acting conveys the determination of Nathalie’s refusal to be anything other than herself. It is refreshing to see an on-screen portrayal of the trials of middle age, specifically for a woman, and Huppert gives a strong performance that is both confident and real.
Huppert’s performance as Nathalie and the film’s insistence upon the positive impact of relationships in our lives make Things to Come an enjoyable, if simple, film. There is something incredibly real about the look that the film takes at the life of a woman in crisis. Every scene and shot feels like something that could have been a real experience, again maintaining audience engagement. The simple and open-ended story of Things to Come keeps it lower on the list but still highly deserving of its place there.
