This auspicious debut combines a headturning performance by Christa Théret — as a fiercely independent, wilful young woman — with an inexorable sense of narrative drive on the part of writer-director Emmanuelle Millet. Together they infuse brio and immense emotional energy into the story of a young woman caught in a trap that she can hardly wait to escape — so long as it’s on her own terms.
Working as an intern in a posh art gallery, Sarah (Théret) unexpectedly collapses one day while hanging some paintings, and is taken to hospital for tests. To her shock, she learns that she’s six months pregnant. Showing no visible signs, Sarah at first refuses to accept the diagnosis. An abortion is her initial solution; when that’s ruled out due to the lateness of her term, she decides to give the child up for adoption as soon as it’s born.
A downward spiral is set in motion. Laidoff from her gallery job, too proud to tell her mother (who lives in another city), and ultimately finding herself homeless, Sarah reluctantly checks in to the local family clinic, which is full of other single young women in similar predicaments, though with one big difference: they all want their babies.
Sarah’s tousled look and breezy avoidance tactics mask a sensitive woman who’s gradually forced to confront the reality of her impending maternity. Her internal push and pull, beautifully embodied by Théret and thoughtfully captured by Millet, turns Twiggy into a tough, uncompromising and finally heartbreaking tale of misadventure. The romance that ensues, the people she meets along the way and the reality of birth all rise to a stirring crescendo. Will she finally compromise?