When Fall Is Coming

That it is still worthwhile owes largely to the sympathetic, sinuous performance of Hélène Vincent, in the lead role of a grand-mère who may not be as simply sweet as she first appears.

François Ozon’s dramatic thriller “When Fall is Coming” is deceptively calm and restrained for all the mystery that arises.

François Ozon’s crackling autumnal thriller gives Hélène Vincent a well-deserved spotlight in this accomplished thriller.

A sleek, modestly scaled entertainment about families, secrets and obligations, it features fine performances and some picture-postcard Burgundian locations.

The film is a bit too muddled to bring its main character fully into focus, despite Hélène Vincent’s best efforts to do so.

In the great Ozon catalogue, this is an incidental work... [yet] fascinating and the more you think about it, the more there is to think about.

Seasoned performers bring emotional depth to this twisty and stylish thriller.

The ending is a bit abrupt, but beyond that sudden finish this meditation on aging, parental love and parental control offers a twisty, engaging and dramatic ride. As a bonus, the location, in France’s Burgundy region, is gorgeous.

It is a story of love, in all its rich simplicity but also in putting us in the difficult position to understand it on a level that transcends ... the most obvious of sins.

With an all-around excellent cast, prolific French director François Ozon has crafted an intriguing puzzler in WHEN FALL IS COMING.