L'âge de raison Reviews

Delightful, uplifting flight of fancy creatively told about dreams, identity, and being true to yourself. An aggressive, assured business broker begins receiving letters from her 7-year-old self, written during the "age of reason", as she instructed her small hometown solicitor to deliver following her 40th birthday to remind her of her childhood aspirations. However, Maguerite at 40 is now the more professional-sounding Margaret and none too pleased to be reminded of her rural upbringing and long-buried memories scarred by her father leaving and being evicted from their home. In the hands of a studio like Disney, this would be utterly predictable, instead we are treated to twists, unexpected encounters, and a satisfying conclusion. A crowd-pleaser to be sure, but in the mold of 'Amelie'. Margaret has a good heart but tends to express her frustration with bitterness, and Sophie Marceau is terrific at playing this character who frequently shows a snippy side yet retains our sympathies. She delivers among her finest performances, deftly mingling comedy and light drama with ease and really giving Margaret a fully rounded personality so that we fully understand her reluctance to embrace her past. A movie that thoroughly entertains while giving plenty of juicy food for thought: am I the same person that I was or that I thought I would be? What has changed? Who will I be in future? I loved this movie and its thoughtful witty script which includes the following wisdom from Oscar Wilde: "One's dreams must be big enough so as not to lose sight of them."