Cannes Review: Adèle Exarchopoulos Demonstrates Her Unstoppable Talent in the Familiar Another Day

      Garance (Adèle Exarchopoulos) is her name, and she takes pride in it: as a feminist, a liberated woman, with devoted friends, a loving family, and the most affectionate partner in the world. What troubles her, however, is her past. Garance is an alcoholic now practicing the subtle art of abstinence. It took her time to cleanse her body and mind from the addiction that constantly whispered in her ear. What is the story behind her remarkable recovery? Exarchopoulos is here to share it with you (both on and offscreen), as much of Another Day (Garance in French) unfolds as a lengthy flashback.

      Jeanne Herry’s drama, part of Cannes’ main competition, feels familiar, yet you might not recall when or why. However, Another Day is more ambitious than it first appears, offering an insightful (if somewhat repetitive) perspective on alcoholism and the existential struggles of women in contemporary France. With a sense of Garance's inherent sass, Herry captures the life of millennials through the lens of their loves, anxieties, and personal challenges.

      Perhaps it's a widely known truth, the oldest mystery in the world, but it's still valid: there is a significant distinction between alcoholism and somewhat intentional drinking. Within the first ten minutes, we already witness Garance with three glasses of white wine and gradually falling into a cycle of incessant drinking. Everyone recognizes this obvious issue, while our protagonist seems to be aboard the "SS Denial," claiming that she's always prepared to quit. Yet, her persistent desire for another drink is unsurprising.

      As a struggling (though talented) actress, Garance releases her stress by partying, as the Beatles say, eight days a week. Even on Sundays, she goes to bars, downs shots while listening to Phoenix and Blur, and subsequently dozes off on a bus on her way home. The pressure never wanes, with one concern following another. Her sister is in remission, the bills keep piling up, and performing for a children's theater company feels like the antithesis of her dreams. “I’m proud to be working here,” Garance tells her boss, even though she knows it's not entirely true. To borrow from Springsteen: people always find reasons to believe. Everyone requires one, and so does Garance.

      Exarchopoulos’ character often dismisses the support of others with fierce intensity. When her anger begins to boil, she seeks out alcohol to calm her nerves. “I have everything under control,” she insists repeatedly. But does she really? When she pours herself a glass of wine before noon, it’s no longer merely an issue; instead, she becomes one. It’s only upon meeting Pauline (Sarah Giraudeau) and facing a shocking diagnosis that Garance is compelled to choose between her life and alcohol. Both options seem viable.

      Film scholars often reference Jimmy Stewart's "drunkish" tour de force in George Cukor’s The Philadelphia Story when discussing the art of portraying intoxication. In a performance that approaches that impressive standard, Exarchopoulos heavily relies on the script, which encourages her to relax her body, raise her voice inappropriately for Garance, and handle the delicate theme of her character's uncontrollable hysteria, which is also tied to her unhealthy love for wine. She remains a force of nature, a powerhouse filled with contradictions. While it’s difficult to watch Garance spiral into drunkenness and potentially squander her life, the way Exarchopoulos embodies both inebriation and the challenges of alcohol withdrawal, marked by recurring panic attacks, is mesmerizing.

      Exarchopoulos elevates Another Day beyond the status of a typical French soap opera, which the film often structurally resembles. Garance's life is dominated by more lows than highs, but at least she presents herself as a reliable narrator, unafraid to acknowledge her past errors. Even in the more mundanely scripted moments, Another Day effectively captures the raw struggle of a young alcoholic. Without Exarchopoulos, this portrayal would likely have fallen flat. She possesses an old-school charisma that brings vibrancy to the narrative's dullness.

      Another Day premiered at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival.