André (André Dussollier) is not a man who is accustomed to having his wishes thwarted. So when, after a debilitating stroke, he decides that he wants to end his life, he is not open to a debate on the matter. This places his two adult daughters, Emmanuelle (Sophie Marceau) and Pascale (Géraldine Pailhas), in a tricky position. In Paris, where they live, assisted suicide is illegal. His only option is to travel to Switzerland. But if they are suspected of helping him, his daughters might face prosecution. Not to mention the burden of grappling with interminable admin while processing their grief over their imminent loss. Not that this concerns André, who faces death with the same monomaniacal self-absorption that, the film strongly hints, he brought to his life. He squalls his displeasure at each setback like a toddler who just dropped his ice-cream on to the pavement and needs it to be made right immediately.
The latest picture from the chameleonic film-maker François Ozon is one of his less formally adventurous. Ozon adopts a light-footed, naturalistic approach in this study of domestic dynamics. It’s not a film that is interested in taking a moral stance on assisted dying, nor is it a picture that wallows in tragedy. There’s a moment when you fear the film is going to tip into mawkishness, when Emmanuelle can’t bring herself to chuck away her dad’s half-eaten sandwich. Then she loses patience and bins it – nicely capturing the dissonance in the relationship with her fascinating, impossible father.
In cinemas and on Curzon Home Cinema
