A vivid performance by Chiara Mastroianni (A Christmas Tale), as a neurotic woman on the brink of divorce, anchors this otherwise meandering family drama from French writer-director Christophe Honore. When Lena (Mastroianni) ditches her soon-to-be-ex-husband and takes their two children to visit her own family at a rented chalet in the country, she has to contend with an impossibly snarky younger brother and a sister who disapproves of her emotional extremes; the latter complicates the visit by surreptitiously inviting the husband to join them, and Lena’s unease only increases with the arrival of her brother’s young pal, with whom she once had a sexual episode. The characters are all intelligent and idiosyncratic, but their various conflicts maintain a steady boil without ever being resolved. “Life without drama is pointless,” the patriarch observes at one point; true enough, but drama without a point is lifeless. In French with subtitles.
Making Plans for Lena
NR • 1 hour 45 min • 2009