The Wait

An unlikely scenario proves surprisingly poignant in this dolorous drama from the debuting Piero Messina, which melds a true story with two works by the prolific playwright Luigi Pirandello. Set during Holy Week in a lakeside villa on the edge of a small Sicilian town, the action turns around the relationship that develops when grieving mother Juliette Binoche decides not to break the news of her son's death to his Parisian girlfriend (Lou de Laâge) when she pays an unexpected visit. The performances are deeply affecting, with the emotionally taut Binoche striving to keep her child alive through de Laâge, who hopes she can impress her lover's mother and atone for a past infidelity. Some of the Easter symbolism is overdone, while Messina struggles to retain the intensity after de Laâge invites handsome strangers Antonio Folletto and Domenico Diele to supper. But there is telling use of sombre interiors and the sun-kissed locations to reinforce the character psychology.