Departure

Andrew Steggall's debut feature takes place in a bucolic part of southern France full of streams, forests, and quaint cottages. Elliot (Alex Lawther) is helping his mother, Beatrice (Juliet Stevenson), prepare to sell their summer home in the wake of her separation from Elliot's father, Philip (Finbar Lynch). Elliot is bored, restless, and insists on wearing a vintage soldier jacket that Beatrice can't stand. One afternoon, he spots an older boy swimming in the reservoir—a forbidden activity—and it piques his interest, so he sets out to befriend Clément (Phénix Brossard), a smoker and motorcycle enthusiast who is staying with his aunt. They speak a little of each other's language, but certain words, like "deer," are lost in translation. Aspiring writer Elliot likes to correct other people's grammar, so Clément calls him, somewhat sarcastically, "the poet." As they hang out together, Elliot becomes increasingly disapproving of Beatrice. Clément, whose own mother has terminal cancer, tells him that Beatrice seems sad, but Elliot is too self-absorbed to notice. He's more interested in Clément, who uses "fag" as a pejorative term even as he seems fully aware that his new friend has a crush on him. Steggall gives no indication whether Clément is gay or straight, only that he seems flattered by Elliot's attentions. When Philip drops by to sign some paperwork, tensions between mother and son increase, although greater understanding will eventually follow. Recommended. (K. Fennessy)