Villa Amalia

Those who enjoy the mere presence of Isabelle Huppert in a film should gain something from this mildly interesting but far too spare French drama about Ann, a middle-aged pianist and composer (with small hints of Huppert’s character in ‘The Piano Teacher’) who cuts all ties with her past after witnessing her husband, Thomas (Xavier Beauvois), kissing another woman. A tense opening chapter, followed by a speedy portrait of the realities of changing one’s life, is far more satisfying than much of what comes later as Huppert confides in an old, gay friend and sets off on a journey that takes in Germany, Switzerland and finally Italy, where she settles into a small clifftop home and the film adopts a more symbolic mood. A growing reliance on ellipsis gives the film an episodic style that makes it feel as if we’re watching snippets from a long-running series and increasingly it feels like the film has little to say about its subject.