Sandra is raising her eight-year-old daughter, Linn, alone. At the moment, however, it is almost more of her father, Georg, that she takes care of. Indeed, this highly respected retired professor suffers from a degenerative disease, Benson’s syndrome, a variant of Alzheimer’s disease. Between her personal and professional obligations, Sandra visits Georg every day, who still lives in her apartment, but for how long? Like a balm come to heal wounds to which we have become so used that we hardly think about it anymore, Clément, former friend, former lover, now married, enters the scene. And the exes to reconnect without thinking too much about the next day, hence the title, A nice morningMia Hansen-Løve’s most recent film.
Unveiled in Cannes, A nice morningexplores the author’s favorite themes: memory, remembrance, loves that are never free from hassle, the whirlwind of life… As she confirmed to us in an interview, the filmmaker pursues a largely autobiographical approach.
Sandra thus becomes the alter ego of the talented director of Bergman Island. And it’s the equally talented Léa Seydoux, star of Roubaix, a lightof No Time to Die(Dying can wait), of Deception and of Crimes of the Future (The crimes of the future), who embodies it.
Like the film itself, which plays on subtlety and the unspoken, the actress favors an infinitely nuanced interiority. Ditto for the too rare Pascal Greggory, favorite actor of Patrice Chéreau (Queen Margot, Those who love me will take the train, Gabriella), who, in the role of the sick father, apparently does very little. However, each inflection, which evokes the voice of a child, and each absent gaze, as if turned towards a fleeting past, captivates and moves.
It’s a brilliant, even audacious choice on the actor’s part, in that it’s the kind of role where it’s often tempting to do a lot to impress the gallery (and the juries such and such prices).
All that is uncertain
Melvil Poupaud (Laurence Anyways, Thanks to God, Sibling) is all about finesse in the role of Clément. Clément, whose welcome loving presence nonetheless extends the list of all that is uncertain in Sandra’s daily life.
In the role of Françoise, mother of Sandra and ex-wife of Georg, Nicole Garcia is not to be outdone, perfect as she is, as usual. Moreover, we find a variation of this character in The futurean earlier film in which Mia Hansen-Løve tells a little about her mother.
In this regard, if we are not surprised that the protagonist, Sandra, has enjoyed a lot of attention in writing for obvious reasons, we are on the other hand pleasantly surprised to find that this applies also to the three characters who revolve around her.
Georg and Françoise prove to be especially fascinating. Thus Georg is condemned to see his past disintegrate, powerless, while Françoise voluntarily conceals whole sections of her existence.
Between these two parental headlights, Sandra navigates on sight. It is this intimate journey that relates A nice morningwithout making waves, but with a stirring sensitivity.