A saying that I have heard several times is ‘To make God laugh, tell him your plans.’ Philosophy professor Nathalie (Isabelle Huppet) does not tell her plans for her life to any divine being or even to most of her family in Things to Come, but her life’s trajectory over the years chronicled in the film would hardly be what she expected. An idyllic vacation opens the film, in a place where Nathalie dreams of peacefully growing older. However, dealing with a failing yet controlling mother, an unfaithful husband who leaves her with no warning, and rejection from a publisher would seem like contrasts to provoke bitterness and resentment. While acknowledging the pain and disappointment of such occurrences, writer-director Mia Hansen-Løve focuses on the opportunities for growth and new relationships that each one brings, and Huppert beautifully portrays aging through hardships and blessings.
– Evalyn Cogswell
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