When Autumn Falls

Michelle (Hélène Vincent) is enjoying a peaceful retirement in a Burgundy village, close to her long-time friend Marie-Claude (Josiane Balasko). When her Parisian daughter Valérie (Ludivine Sagnier) drops off her son Lucas to spend school vacation with his grandma, Michelle, confused and upset by her daughter’s resentful attitude, accidentally serves her toxic mushrooms for lunch. Valérie quickly recovers but forbids her mother from seeing her grandson anymore. Feeling lonely and guilty, Michelle falls into a depression, until Marie-Claude’s son gets out of prison with designs on opening a bar in the locality. Michelle decides to set him on his feet by employing him as her gardener, a charitable move with surprising and grievous consequences. A character-driven psychological drama from the ever-surprising and unpredictable François Ozon, the twisty When Autumn Falls is worthy of comparison to Claude Chabrol at his finest.