Bright Days Ahead

Critics Consensus

No consensus yet.

87%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 23

61%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 266
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Movie Info

For recent retiree Caroline (Fanny Ardant, 8 WOMEN, CONFIDENTIALLY YOURS), a new life of freedom and opportunity lies before her: time to take care of her children, her husband, and most of all, to finally take care of herself. But while her peers at the local seniors' club pass the time with ceramics and amateur theater, she finds a new hobby of her own between the sheets with the center's computer teacher Julien (Laurent Lafitte, LITTLE WHITE LIES), a carefree ladies man decades her junior. The couple set rules for their affair, but Caroline seems to like courting danger, taking her lover to places she knows they might be seen and telling lies to her husband (Patrick Chesnais, THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY) that could easily be discovered. As Caroline finds herself in the midst a second youth - taking a new lover, living new experiences, breaking the rules, not doing what's expected of her - will her retirement mark the beginning of the end for her marriage, or a new beginning?(C) Tribeca

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Cast

Fanny Ardant
as Caroline
Laurent Lafitte
as Julien
Patrick Chesnais
as Philippe
Jean-François Stévenin
as Roger
Fanny Cottençon
as Chantal
Catherine Lachens
as Sylviane
Alain Cauchi
as Jacky
Marie Rivière
as Jocelyne
Marc Chapiteau
as Hugues
Feodor Atkine
as Paul
Olivia Coté
as Lydia
Emilie Caen
as Hostess
Eléonore Bernheim
as Lise
Maud LeGuenedal
as Rebecca
Hugues Tabar-Nouval
as Arthur
Melody Bramli
as Sidonie
Paul Zajdermann
as Sarah
Marceline Loridan Ivens
as Octogenarian
Jeanne Audiard
as Anaïs
Claire Castillon
as Professor of Pottery
Francis Leplay
as Professor of Oenology
Fanny Chesnel
as Guide
Hortense Gelinet
as Englishwoman
Sylvie Degryse
as Ségolène
Eric LeBlanc
as Richard
Marie Boissard
as Christine
José Fumanal
as Bernard
Paule Zajdermann
as Sarah
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Critic Reviews for Bright Days Ahead

All Critics (23) | Top Critics (7)

  • To the film's credit, no one finds the age gap that scandalous, but that doesn't mean it doesn't matter. These are people at very different places in life.

    Jun 19, 2014 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…

    Leslie Felperin

    Guardian
    Top Critic

  • We've seen variations on the character before. But Fanny Ardant's performance as the straitlaced wife ... is insightful and note-perfect.

    Jun 17, 2014 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…

    Trevor Johnston

    Time Out
    Top Critic

  • Ardant might wrestle with alienation, but Bright Days Ahead never risks alienating its self-satisfied target audience.

    May 8, 2014 | Rating: 2/4 | Full Review…

    Ben Sachs

    Chicago Reader
    Top Critic

  • "Bright Days Ahead" offers an interesting twist on the May-December romance.

    May 8, 2014 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…

    Bill Goodykoontz

    Arizona Republic
    Top Critic

  • The well-observed script touches on a number of everyday issues about the aging process - whether you're pushing 40 or passing 60 - that add a tender and enlightening layer to this engaging, leisurely paced film.

    May 1, 2014 | Full Review…

    Gary Goldstein

    Los Angeles Times
    Top Critic

  • Struggling to get out from under the film's too-cheery surface is a much more serious movie about grown-ups confronting the depredations of old age.

    Apr 24, 2014 | Full Review…

    Stephen Holden

    New York Times
    Top Critic
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