What it’s about
A group of obliquely connected Parisians struggle to develop emotional connections with fellow lonelyhearts in this multi-character drama. Sixty-something real estate broker Thierry (Dusollier) has a crush on Charlotte (Azema), his devout Christian co-worker. Charlotte moonlights as a home health aide for Lionel (Arditi), a bartender at a swank club who has a cantankerous father to care for. Meanwhile, Dan (Wilson) is an unemployed man whose engagement to Nicole (Morante) is threatened by doubt and his daytime drinking habit.
Why we love it
This collaboration between French master Resnais (“Last Year at Marienbad”) and British playwright Alan Ayckbourn is subtle but affecting, graced by fabulous performances from the ensemble cast. Addressing longing and the need for companionship, “Fears” moves at a stately pace, with an endlessly snowy Paris as the backdrop for these characters' dilemmas (like Charlotte's dealings with a nasty, bed-ridden elder) and inner agonies (Thierry's certainty that Charlotte is slipping him homemade porn tapes of herself). Elegantly shot amid brightly colored interiors, “Fears” is a splendidly mature film, good for cold winter nights.