Other People’s Children: a deep, nuanced romcom that addresses childlessness head-on

• Reviewed from the 2022 Venice International Film Festival.

Stepmothers in film often lean towards the Disney villain variety: sour supporting characters who resent their partner’s children as baggage, or temporary nuisances to be dismissed when mum and dad reunite to the cheer of the child(ren) caught in the middle. Rebecca Zlotowski’s new film grants far more empathy and attention to the nuances of this common familial set-up, centring a kind, patient 40-year-old woman who truly loves the child of her new partner.

Virginie Efira has never been more charming and charismatic than here, playing Rachel, a teacher who lives a fulfilled and happy life despite her wish for a child, which her gynaecologist (a cameo by the great documentarian Frederick Wiseman) tells her is becoming increasingly unlikely. When she meets and falls in love with Ali (Roschdy Zem), she finds pride and purpose in her role as stepmother to his young daughter Leila (Callie Ferreira-Goncalves) without giving up on her dream of having a biological child. This is expressed through small, well observed moments, such as her quiet devastation when – having had unprotected sex with Ali – her period arrives, an unopened pregnancy test in the bathroom basin mocking her optimism.

Zlotowski is not afraid to position Other People’s Children as a romcom, though avoids much of the frivolity that often accompanies that designation. The big-hearted jazz score and corny vignetting effects are familiar tropes, but with Efira practically glowing before DoP George Lechaptois’s benevolent lens, we can see and feel the warmth and depth of the relationships unfurling onscreen, between siblings, parents, lovers and children.

Rather than generalising about childless women, this is a sensitive, multi-faceted exploration of one woman’s experience. It understands how it can be equally true that one can live a complete life without children, while also feeling left out of some kind of communal club. There’s no bitter rivalry between Rachel and Leila’s mother Alice (Chiara Mastroianni), nor resentment of Rachel’s younger sister Louana (Yamée Couture), who falls pregnant by accident. At every turn, the film remains true and, above all, classy. It finds emotional power in the material without the need for explosiveness, examining the complexity of these knotty yet meaningful relationships – where there is more than one chef in the nuclear family kitchen – through both sadness and humour. Mature and moving, Zlotowski’s film is light on its feet, with a profound tenderness at its core.

► Other People’s Children is in UK cinemas from 17 March.