Happy End

As befits middle-class families, the Laurents come together each day at the table, but this is the only thing which unites them. From the patriarch and his daughter, down to the two grandsons and great-granddaughter, each has his or her own concerns and the atmosphere isn’t helped by the current refugee crisis in Calais, where they live. Mere hints of the stories of the individual characters justify the impression that the family is irrevocably falling apart. Michael Haneke remained faithful to his familial theme and to his cinematic style, which is always a revelation. The first sequences of the film, interwoven with the opening credits, are captured on a mobile phone, auguring the unsettling scenes that document the disintegration of the Laurent family. The filmmaker also returns to characters portrayed by the same actors in his earlier film Amour: Georges, defenceless in old age, is embodied by Jean-Louis Trintignant, while Anne, who strives to maintain a sense of decorum, is again played by Isabelle Huppert. Our attention, however, strays to Eve, representing the youngest generation – a bit confused but surprisingly pragmatic.