Making Plans for Lena

Recently liberated from her job and husband, Lena (Chiara Mastroianni) heads home to Brittany for the holidays, hoping to enjoy at least a temporary escape from all she’s gone through in Paris. But no such luck: from practically the moment she’s back, she’s confronted with unwanted advice, character analysis that borders on character assassination, and a few other unexpected surprises. His most successful film yet in France, Christophe Honoré has made a wonderfully sprawling portrait of a family that veers from painful to funny to painfully funny, expertly capturing all the feints and digs that often pass for conversation when families get together. Chiara Mastroianni has never been better, radiating a deceptive calm at the center of this emotional storm, while Marie-Christine Barrault as her mother and Marina Foïs as her sister are the loving obstacles to her actually having any semblance of rest and relaxation.