We’re all rather fond of routine, and you get to a certain age in life when you’ve settled on your friends, you don’t really need any more. We can fear the return of that old companion, somebody from a former life, somebody you feel there’s a reason you lost contact with. It’s this notion that Martin Provost’s The Midwife thrives on, and while we feel the anxiety and impatience of our protagonist in this endeavour when her life is disrupted – the overriding sentiment to take away is that change is not always such a bad thing after all.
Catherine Frot plays the aforementioned role, the experienced, compassionate midwife Claire Breton, who returns home from a nightshift to a voicemail – from Béatrice Sobolevski (Catherine Deneuve), an old friend of Claire’s, who eventually went to have a relationship with her father, a successful Olympic swimmer. The reason for her sudden reappearance is because Béatrice is dying, and wants to find some closure on a chapter in her life she still feels is unfinished – but Claire could do without having this eccentric, melodramatic woman back in her life – though pity takes precedence and she decides to show her support. Add to that the news her son (Quentin Dolmaire) is expecting a child, and her neighbour (Olivier Gourmet) has feelings for her – and it seems her straightforward existence, which she appreciates, is suddenly rather complex.
Regrettably there’s not a particularly strong narrative in this piece, as a unfulfilling story that doesn’t have enough of a dramatic core. That’s not to say every film should, minimalism if often craved for in cinema – but in this instance it just feels as though we’re lacking a certain spark, a spark the leading duo deserve.