The Cinematheque

“What do women want? More movies as emotionally intelligent and fine-grained as this one, I suspect … Let the Sunshine In might be the lightest, most charming divertissement of Denis’s career.”

Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times

Claire Denis takes on (and delightfully deconstructs) the romantic comedy in Let the Sunshine In, a film that ventures into a realm Hollywood cinema rarely cares to: middle-aged female desire. Delicately balancing humour and heartbreak, Denis’s singularly intelligent movie casts the ever-luminous Juliette Binoche as Isabelle, a Parisian artist and divorcée negotiating the emotional hazards of middle-aged dating. The men with whom she has assignations—including a married banker (French filmmaker Xavier Beauvois), a narcissistic actor (Nicolas Duvauchelle), and a working-class bad boy (Paul Blain)—are unworthy. A late scene featuring French screen legend Gérard Depardieu is an affecting highlight. Noted French novelist and playwright Christine Angot co-wrote the script.