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'Time to Leave': In dying, a young man struggles to find peace

Only the good die young?

Not so, says François Ozon in his new film, "Time to Leave." Sometimes the bad die young, too.

Strand Releasing 'Time to Leave (Le Temps Qui Reste)' B The verdict: Takes its time drawing you in but builds to a heart-wrenching finale. Director: François Ozon Starring: Melvil Poupaud, Jeanne Moreau, Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi, Daniel Duval, Marie Riviere Run time: 85 minutes Release date: July 14, 2006 Language: In French with English subtitles. Rating: Not rated, but includes sexual situations, nudity, language and drug use. On the web Official movie site View the trailer [an error occurred while processing this directive]

Handsome, trendy 31-year-old fashion photographer Romain (Melvil Poupaud) isn't exactly bad ... but he is selfish, shallow, materialistic and unnecessarily mean to his sweetheart of a boyfriend and his supportive family. And he's just been told by his doctor things don't look good, health-wise. AIDS, he assumes.

Nope. Incurable brain cancer.

Refusing chemo and adamant about keeping the bad news from his loved ones, Romain decides to deal with his death sentence on his own isolating terms. He abruptly breaks things off with his lover, is less giving than ever to his family, even explodes at his poor devoted sister who only wants him to take a few pictures of her young children.

The only person he confides in is his grandmother (French legend Jeanne Moreau) and he does that, he tells her, because she understands. She'll be dead soon, too.

In some ways, the movie echoes the five phases of dying chronicled in Elisabeth Kübler-Ross' celebrated book "On Death and Dying" (denial, fear, acceptance, etc.). But it's not that methodical. Or impersonal. We watch Romain change as he struggles with his mortality and, as he does, we come to care about him.

Aside from a clumsy, unconvincing subplot about a final gift Romain makes to a couple he barely knows, Ozon mostly keeps us inside his solitude. We witness poignant imaginary encounters with his boy-self who has no idea his life will be cut off so cruelly. And after his conciliatory phone call to his sister, the camera pulls back to reveal her brother is actually just a few hundred yards away from her, snapping the photos she wanted while she, unaware, plays with her children in a park.

Ozon, who has made impressive films such as "Swimming Pool" and "Under the Sand," is quickly emerging as one of the major voices of French cinema. "Time to Leave" doesn't seem as accomplished at first as its predecessors, but it sneaks up on you, building to a final scene that's emotionally devastating. Yet, it's also a kind of benediction — an unexpected gift of peace to an unpeaceful man.