Son of the Bride

At 42, restaurateur Rafael (Darín), is on a collision course with a mid-life crisis. Keeping the tables turning in Argentina's financial turmoil is draining enough, but he's an intermittent dad to his young daughter, non-committal in his relationship with his current girlfriend, and at a loss to cope with his mother's Alzheimer's. His father's announcement that he intends to give the old girl the church wedding she always wanted, even though she may be too mentally fragile to appreciate it, is the last thing he needed to hear. Something has to give, and it does. The central conceit in this serio-comic ensemble piece is cliché city, as cardiac trouble refocuses stressed-out misery-goat Rafael's emotional priorities. Still, this appealing, unashamedly mainstream movie has a lot to offer. You may not see a better set of performances this year, since Darín's commanding charisma garners effortless sympathy for the self-centred character, Alterio as his father makes touchingly credible a man who only sees his wife for the woman she once was, and Aleandro conveys Alzheimer's clouded-over gaze, unpredictable humour and fogged recall with the insight and skill of a great screen actress.