Things to Come

What does one do when their marriage suddenly ends? Some might mourn over their spouse leaving them for someone else, others embrace their newfound freedom. But everyone reacts differently to certain things.

In Mia Hansen-Løve's Things to Come, Nathalie (Isabelle Huppert) takes the news of her husband leaving for another woman quite well. (Granted, she's trying to balance out her mother's erratic behavior and her philosophy class at once.) But once the separation starts to sink in, she begins to embrace her new independence.

It's possible that Hansen-Løve borrowed some cues from An Unmarried Woman for Things to Come. Both involve women of a certain age now free from their marriage and at first not sure what to do. But once time starts to pass, they begin to open up.

There's something about Huppert's performance in Things to Come that proves why she's one of the best actresses working today. She doesn't need that big scene to show what she's capable of, she just needs to be. (Also, it always seems to be female directors to utilize such performances from their actors.)

Things to Come may appear as an unassuming piece of fiction but it unfolds into something deeply reminiscent of the likes of Abbas Kiarostami. (Coincidentally, there's a scene where Nathalie is watching Certified Copy.) It's a depiction of life in its later stages and what one could expect from it all. (No one ever said it would be without its bumps in the road.)

My Rating: *****