Autumn Tale

And so Eric Rohmer's four-film seasonal cycle finally comes to a close. His movies tend to feel like chapters in an immense, sprawling novel, rather than individual works--this is true even of films from different cycles, or the occasional stand-alone picture like Rendezvous in Paris--so in a sense it's a bit pointless to "criticize" a particular film: you either like the guy or you don't. I do, as it happens, and this nuanced tale of unsolicited matchmaking, which concentrates on two middle-aged women (played by Marie Riviere and Beatrice Romand, both Rohmer vets), is typically fine: beautifully acted, carefully composed (because his movies are so talky and his camera so unemphatic, Rohmer's visual sense is highly underrated), extremely perceptive, and just generally a low-key delight. Unless, of course, you don't like Rohmer, in which case it's a static, interminable bore. From these quarters, however, it definitely comes recommended. (M. D'Angelo)