Then She Found Me

Middle age is sexy – it’s official! Helen Hunt has chosen for her directorial debut to adapt a novel by Elinor Lipman, who specialises in that tricky age. In this audacious, low-key romance, Hunt dominates as a 39-year-old New York teacher who’s saddled with a low ovum count, a ticking clock and an immature new husband.

In a film of swinging doors, husband Ben leaves and her adoptive mother dies, just as divorced Frank (Colin Firth) hoves into view, as does TV host Bernice (Bette Midler), claiming to be her mother. Hunt’s debut is a breakthrough film in the categorical sense: an awkward film on an awkward age with a central character who is, well, awkward. Hunt’s jumpy direction is arguably suited to the film’s desperately cliché-avoiding indie sensibility, but there are some disorientating elisions which mean you’re not always sure what’s going on. The performances, too – notably Midler’s – kick off in an broad register. But Hunt’s film does soften the heart, not least because of its honesty and its sensitivity to some unfashionable dilemmas.