Nona and Her Daughters (2023) Series Review
Valérie Donzelli‘s television series Nona and Her Daughters tells the story of what would happen if a 70-something woman got pregnant. From her honest, bewildered reaction, to the desperate action her family takes in order to understand and further accept the unexpected. This is a brutally sincere and grounded take on the broken dynamics of a family that’s already dysfunctional when something absurd shakes them off their daily routine.
But Donzelli, also writing alongside Clémence-Madeleine Perdrillat, doesn’t go for the easy and expected reaction to her premise. We know Nona is pregnant because we see her X-rays and there’s a sort of scientific approach when the series begins, but this is not a show about the extraordinary fact that someone that old can be a mother. This is a show about how her surroundings reply and behave. It’s a beautiful tale of family values in modern society when a nucleus of women what science can’t explain but it’s tangible enough to change their whole lives.
Nona is in the center, without control of the most important moment of her life. Her daughters Manu, Gaby and George, recoil when they find out they will be sisters, but never actually question what will ultimately happen with their mother. In a very beautiful and unexpected sequence, Nona and Her Daughters goes for a musical moment and heart-wrenching feelings are explained in the form of a melody.
Nona’s daughters decide their mother needs care. A midwife moves in, but due to an eviction notice, they all decide to move in together. This makes the show’s dramatic core shake as French comedy sets in all its glory. This is when Nona and Her Daughters confirm its true spirit and the show becomes a drama with continuous winks at the funny aspect of Nona’s pregnancy. However, this is also when the show becomes more and more about three sisters living together while facing the unexpected shift in their lives, but also trying to deal with new romantic ventures, and families awkwardly separating. Oh and the show goes for a subtle supernatural tone when Nona’s belly starts emitting a strange red light.
Regardless of how you take the direction Donzelli goes for in the middle part of the show, the engagement is almost magnetic. At times, it becomes too silly and almost too funny, but when Nona and Her Daughters stays on its more serious note, it becomes much more interesting than before. This wouldn’t happen without the show’s most prominent element: An admirable cast ensemble that elevates the series above what some detractors will claim as ridiculous and exploitative. Such cast includes: Miou Miou, Virginie Ledoyen, Valérie Donzelli, Clotilde Hesme, Antoine Reinartz, Michel Vuillermoz. Miou Miou shines heavily above everyone else.
Don’t let the initial tone confuse you. The reality shock comes at some point in Nona and Her Daughters, and we guarantee you won’t be prepared. But fortunately Donzelli’s talent at storytelling makes everything much easier to digest. She’s a natural.
