‘Love Letters’ review: Drama charts lesbian couple’s rocky road to parenthood in 2014 France

Dir/scr: Alice Douard. France. 2025. 97mins

The pressures on a French lesbian couple anticipating their first youngster lie on the coronary heart of Love Letters. Alice Douard’s sure-footed 2014-set debut characteristic paints the couple as pioneers in a rustic that has simply legalised similar intercourse marriage. Sensitively poised between expectation and trepidation, the couple face authorized and emotional challenges to say their health as dad and mom.

Doaurd grounds the movie within the portrayal of Celine and Nadia as a loyal and affectionate couple

The tender compassion of the storytelling carries a hoop of fact that ought to assist this Cannes Critics Week Particular Screening achieve traction with audiences who supported current French titles like Audrey Diwan’s Taking place (2021) and the Larrieu brothers Jim’s Story (2024). The movie additionally carries a specific resonance at a time when hard-won rights really feel underneath menace. Tandem holds the French rights.

Increasing on themes from Douard’s Cesar-winning brief Anticipating (2022), Love Letters takes inspiration from the 2013 vote in France’s Nationwide Meeting that legalised same-sex marriage. Shortly afterwards, in 2014, Celine (Ella Rumpf) and Nadia (Monia Chokri) are married and making ready to change into dad and mom. Nadia is pregnant with their child, and the legislation requires Celine to undertake the kid. The method includes a substantial diploma of private scrutiny, with Celine having to offer intensive proof of the couple’s relationship and written testimonials from 15 family members who will attest to their want for the kid. It’s a course of that appears designed to impress insecurity.

Doaurd grounds the movie within the portrayal of Celine and Nadia as a loyal and affectionate couple. They ponder names for the child, the practicalities of dismantling a pram and we imagine their love is powerful sufficient to resist any of the difficulties that will lie forward. Nadia is a hard-working dentist, and Chokri offers her the style of an environment friendly, sensible skilled who simply will get on with life. Celine is 5 years youthful, a DJ, sound engineer and music producer. Rumpf emphasises her doubts and self reproach, reflecting her character’s fragile authorized standing.

The necessity to assemble the written testimonials buildings the movie across the couple’s encounters with family and friends members. Pals with kids appear to please in sharing struggle tales of painful contractions, the hell of potty coaching, the calls for of offspring who take over your life. They by no means appear to wish to share the enjoyment. When Celine babysits one lovable little mite, he empties his bowels into the bathwater. 

Celine’s mom Marguerite (Noemie Lvovsky) is a world-renowned pianist, however maybe not a world-class mum or dad. She appears to treat their relationship as transactional. Celine’s reminiscences of her mom’s absences and emotional distance solely gas considerations about her personal legitimacy as a mum or dad. Lvovsky has the presence to persuade as somebody who robs the room of all its oxygen, however her nuanced efficiency additionally conveys the regrets and vulnerabilities of an artist who put work earlier than household life. 

Every little thing that occurs to Celine and Nadia looks like a cold actuality verify concerning the attitudes of others and the threats to their blissful household unit. Douard softens these edges with the movie’s heat humour and generosity of spirit. The throb and elevated pulse of a bustling Paris supplies the background to a narrative by which the cool formality of authorized places of work and medical appointments is contrasted with the glow of nightclub dance flooring, metropolis streets and household gatherings. The soundtrack marks Marguerite’s affect with performances of Beethoven and Chopin, while making a bigger nod to Celine’s world with an eclectic mixture of rock and digital tracks from Chapelier Fou, Laurent Dury, Disclosure and La Maison Tellier.