Two months behind in the rent, deflector of note Anaïs (Anaïs Demoustier) uses everything from a glass of juice to the smoke alarm that almost beaned her landlady to distract from the subject at hand. Anaïs moves at a whirlwind pace, the camera following her as it would a boxer’s footwork. Her “do what we can with what we have” mantra endows her with an aimlessness that impacts both work and play. She’s agoraphobic by nature, but don’t let the “meet cute” on the elevator deter you. Like everything that opens Charline Bourgeois-Racquet’s picture, it’s there for a purpose and will eventually, and subtlety, be called back into play. Daniel (Denis Podalydès), the stranger who accompanies her bicycle in the lift while she takes the stairs, soon becomes her lover. As does his wife (Valeria Bruni Tedeschi), though not at the same time. Anaïs’ life is like a series of crumpled letters that she loses interest in writing halfway through. It’s the type of romantic film that the French produce with the greatest of ease, with characters that are complex, compelling, and deliriously neurotic in the ways of love. And when it comes to curtain shots, all roads lead to a felicitous clincher. (2021) — Scott Marks
This movie is not currently in theaters.