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Poster for Bright Days Ahead

Bright Days Ahead

2013 · 1h 34m · NOT RATED Drama, Romance
Directed by Marion Vernoux

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Overview

Bright days ahead? Caroline has retired, at last. A new life lies before her: time to take care of her children, her husband, and, most of all, herself. However, she soon comes to realize that this new freedom is synonymous with boredom and idleness. Especially when she receives a membership to her neighborhood’s senior club as a birthday present… Reluctant at first, she nevertheless decides to take the plunge. Oddly enough, she meets great people there, starting with the young computer science teacher, who is far from insensitive to her charms. Caroline gradually takes control of her life again and lives a second youth: taking a new lover, living new experiences, breaking the rules, not doing what’s expected of her… Who said that retirement was the beginning of the end and not a new beginning?

Director and cast

Critics on Rotten Tomatoes

Top critics, in their words

All reviews
86%
Tomatometer
Fresh

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

Trevor Johnston, Time Out
Rotten

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

Ben Sachs, Chicago Reader
Fresh

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

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic
Fresh

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.

Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times
Rotten

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.

Stephen Holden, New York Times

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