When autumn comes: a François Ozon in minor mode (review)

The director leaves the theatricality of My Crime to return to a poisonous and ambiguous thriller. But with so much left unsaid, this 2024 vintage lacks vertigo.

We know how much François Ozon likes, for twenty-five years now that he has been working in cinema, to observe human faults and guilt by mischievously moving from comedy to tragedy. After the funny and playful tone of My Crime, the filmmaker thus returns to a criminal intrigue, this time favoring the gray areas, the dramatic atmosphere and the gray colors of autumn.

Marked by his desire to film “actresses of a certain age” and to capture the mysterious beauty of the wrinkles on their faces, Ozon tells the story of a grandmother who leads a seemingly peaceful retreat in Burgundy. During the All Saints’ Day holidays, a mushroom poisoning, which we do not know if it was intentional, nevertheless sets off a whole spiral which will lead to a police investigation. With this question: did the octogenarian want to kill her own daughter, with whom she has a complex relationship?

If the screenplay takes pleasure in leaving things unsaid, the rhythm suffers precisely from this indecision which leaves us between two fires and fits rather poorly with the ambition of a poisonous thriller. Because rather than encouraging us to emotionally fill the off-screen areas, these narrative ellipses limit the possibility of feeling authentic vertigo. What remains is an honorable cast, carried by the ambivalent Hélène Vincent and the frail Pierre Lottin, who form a blended and dysfunctional family in the face of which we would have loved to be even more troubled.

By François Ozon With Hélène Vincent, Josiane Balasko, Pierre Lottin… Duration 1h42. Released October 2, 2024