One Fine Morning review: Léa Seydoux excels as an everywoman in Mia Hansen-Løve’s meditative gem

Léa Seydoux’s aching performance is matched by the director’s affectionate, poignant depiction of minutiae in everyday life

One Fine Morning

Sandra is your average, independent woman in a city who’s ordinary and extraordinary in more ways than one. She’s a translator by profession, a wonderful single mother, nurturing her school-going daughter with love and tenderness. She’s gradually coming to terms with her father Georg’s deteriorating health. He suffers from Benson’s syndrome and we’re offered brief glimpses of his past as she shifts from one medical facility to the other.

Having lost her partner early in life, a 30-something Sandra misses being loved, cared and embraced. There’s an emptiness in her existence that director Mia captures to perfection. A relationship with her late husband’s friend, Clement, a chemical cosmologist, a man going through a troubled marriage, fills that void, at least initially. However, reality catches up sooner than they presume.

Apart from the brief phases of underplayed tension between Sandra and Clement, One Fine Morning’s narrative unfolds through the mundaneness of its protagonist’s life. It takes you through the trials and tribulations of an everywoman - her little pleasures, desires, her conflicts, emotional highs and lows. Her life revolves around her family - daughter, an ailing daughter - and a newfound companion.

The film portrays life through various age groups - you’re warmed by the joi de vivre and innocence in Sandra’s daughter, you get a sense of the loneliness in the lives of a middle-aged couple and also realise how time can easily slip away from your grip in your later years (through Georg). One Fine Morning is named after the title that Georg had thought of, for his autobiography, which will forever remain incomplete.

There’re several astute observations that catch your attention - Sandra says she can feel her father more through his books than being in his presence. She’s gradually accepting the fact that he may not even recognise her one day. It’s through music, Georg’s random scribbles and his haywire conversations that help you discover his past as a philosophy professor.

One Fine morning also mirrors the obvious complications a single woman is likely to face in a relationship with a married man. Despite the honesty in their relationship, Sandra is aware that she may not always be the first priority in his life, labelling herself a ‘mistress’. Yet she longs for companionship and persists with him even if she is unaware if they’ll have a steady future together.

The beauty of the film is in its depiction of simplicity, exploring life through the awkward silences and unexpressed emotional turmoil. The stellar, poignant music score, Mila Preli’s production design and Denis Lenoir’s cinematography are the lifelines of its ambience - they give the right space for a viewer to introspect, digest a situation and invest in the world of its characters.

The cinematography is particularly spectacular for its vibrant colour palette - the yellows, greens, blues and the reds provide solace to the viewer amidst Sandra’s difficult hours. It’s like a pat on her shoulder and offers a window of hope for her future. Despite its simplistic premise, the narrative flows like a dream and it’s so seamlessly edited while not tinkering with the soul of the film.

Léa Seydoux’s vulnerability and sensitivity are an asset to One Fine Morning - she’s incredibly receptive to Sandra’s emotions and comes up with a calm, unhurried portrayal that grows on you over the two hour runtime. Melvil Poupaud is earnest while playing a married man caught between his family and newfound love.

Pascal Greggory brings an affectionate, likeable quality to his performance as Georg and it’s relieving that he never tries too hard. Child actor Camille Leban Martins gets a well-fleshed-out part, playing a girl who’s innocent, compassionate and intelligent and is not reduced to a painfully ‘cute’ caricature.

The director, Mia, had shared that the film was a tribute to her father, whom she lost to Benson’s syndrome during COVID-19. No wonder she brings a personal touch to the minutiae in the proceedings so effortlessly. The film ends on a morning when Sandra, her daughter and Clement enjoy a scenic view of Paris at a tourist site, discussing the city’s prominent landmarks. Sandra did deserve a happy ending after all. Or is there more drama that awaits her?

Rating: 4/5

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