My Worst Nightmare

A woman trying to save a failing relationship gets some unexpected help from a well-meaning slob in this comedy from director Anne Fontaine. Agathe (Isabelle Huppert) and Francois (André Dussollier) are a pair of upper-class intellectuals who have been together for years; she manages an art museum, and he works in publishing. The couple is raising a son, Adrien (Donatien Suner), but the spark has clearly gone out of their relationship, and Francois has taken up with a younger woman. Patrick (Benoît Poelvoorde) is a Belgian handyman whose son Tony (Corentin Devroey) is close friends with Adrien; when Agathe and Francois learn that Patrick may lose custody of his son because he's out of work, they offer him some work doing repairs at their home. While Patrick is certainly a pest, his carefree and unpretentious manner rubs off on his employers, and Agathe in particular learns to loosen up and relax more in the interest of holding on to her man. Mon Pire Cauchemar (aka My Worst Nightmare) received its North American debut at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival.