Director Arnaud Desplechin deftly mixes comedy and tragedy in this tale that traces the intersecting lives of Nora (Emmanuelle Devos), a professionally successful single mom, and her ex-husband, Ismaël (Mathieu Amalric), a neurotic musician who's mistakenly been committed to a mental hospital. Ismaël's comic antics in the asylum are juxtaposed against Nora's anguish upon learning that her father is dying and that her future's uncertain.