Frankie (Isabelle Huppert) may be a control freak, but she doesn’t care if a hotel guest takes pictures of her naked morning swim. After all, an actress with her Q score is nothing if not photogenic. And with cancer chipping away at her life expectancy, what has she got to lose? Writer and director Ira Sachs invites us to spend a day in Sintra, Portugal, vacationing with the title character, who has gathered her family around looking to orchestrate her demise right down to the last breath. Her dying wish is to play matchmaker to her son Paul (Jérémie Renier) and favorite stylist Irene (Marisa Tomei). Unbeknownst to the star, the latter has invited a boyfriend (Greg Kinnear) who has in his possession an engagement ring. (Tomei’s enjoinment is a master class in rejection.) Tomei and Huppert’s performances as dresser and the star who wants to die happy are the renderings that hold the schmaltz together. Then there’s Brendan Gleeson’s quiet turn as Frankie’s soon-to-be demolished husband. (2019) — Scott Marks
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