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Contains strong sexThe prolific French filmmaker Fran莽ois Ozon swiftly follows up his impressive account of a failed relationship 5x2 with this pared-down chamber drama, in which a thirtysomething gay Parisian photographer Romain (Melvil Poupaud) is diagnosed with an inoperable tumour and confronts his impending death by embracing solitude. Whilst avoiding many of the sentimental clich茅s that bedevil terminal illness movies, the briskly edited Time To Leave nevertheless lacks the emotional impact of Ozon's most memorable films.
So how would you live out the last months of your life? The narcissistic Romain decides not to undergo chemotherapy, and nor does he confide in his supportive parents (Daniel Duval and Marie Rivi猫re). Instead he splits up with his younger boyfriend (Christian Sengewald) and picks a venomous argument with his single-parent sister, before choosing to open up emotionally to his ageing grandmother (New Wave icon Jeanne Moreau), because in his words, "like me you are dying soon." And throughout this minimalist story Romain witnesses visions of his younger self, reminding him of earlier sensations of happiness.
"PUZZLING TOUCHES"
Poupaud gives a credibly introverted lead performance, physically seemingly to waste away in front of our eyes and suggesting how anger might shift into acceptance. There are some puzzling touches here, not least a contrived sub-plot about Romain helping impregnate Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi's waitress with the active encouragement of her sterile husband. But the widescreen format allows us to concentrate on the near-focus close-ups of the characters' faces, and as with previous Ozon works such Under The Sand, it's the seaside which represents a key space for mysterious human experiences.
In French with English subtitles.
