Catherine Deneuve plays an aging Miss Brittany who goes in search of herself on a trip around France.

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When she finds out her longtime lover is having an affair with a younger woman, Bettie’s (Catherine Deneuve) frustration with life reaches a boiling point. The former beauty queen takes off in her car, leaving behind the family restaurant and her mother. Her daughter Muriel tracks Bettie down and asks her to take her son to his paternal grandfather, which gives Bettie an objective. As she drives through France bumming cigarettes from all and sundry, her trip becomes a journey in search of both herself and her family – one that won’t lead back to her old life.

Catherine Deneuve’s character falls flat somewhere between implied parody and sentimental sincerity, leaving the audience unsatisfied. One could have expected more depth from the co-scriptwriter of the multi-facted “Polisse”. French actress/director Emmanuelle Bercot’s fourth film is not convincing, which makes it all the more odd that Elle s'en va made it into the competition at this year’s Berlin Film Festival.