Summer Hours

At her 75th birthday party Hélène Berthier (Edith Scob) informs her three children--Frédéric (Charles Berling), Adrienne (Juliette Binoche), and Jérémie (Jérémie Renier)--that they're free to do whatever they want with her belongings. Shortly thereafter, Hélène—the niece of a renowned painter—passes away, leaving behind a collection of art deco furnishings and precious objets d'art, including pieces by Edgar Degas and Odilon Redon (many of the items featured are authentic works loaned from the Musée d'Orsay). Were he a different kind of writer-director, filmmaker Olivier Assayas would have the superficial locking horns with the righteous, but his characters are never quite so simplistic. Frédéric, who resides in France with his wife and daughter, wishes to leave everything as is; but Adrienne lives in New York with her boyfriend (played by Clint Eastwood's son, Kyle), and Jérémie and his family are in China, so the siblings hatch a plan meant to meet everyone's unique needs. Summer Hours marks a return to form for Assayas (after 2007's stylishly inert Boarding Gate), while Berling anchors this deceptively rich film with his subtle performance. Offering a rewarding new twist on the family melodrama, this is highly recommended. (K. Fennessy)