Time to Leave marks yet another cinematic departure for the prolific François Ozon, who has directed such diverse films as the documentary on French politician Lionel Jospin, Jospin s'éclaire , the singing 8 femmes (Eight Women) and sexy thriller Swimming Pool (with Charlotte Rampling). Time to Leave is a more sombre affair and marks the second in a trilogy of films Ozon plans on the theme of mourning (Sous le sable being the first).

Romain (Poupard) is an attractive young fashion photographer, who leads a glamorous life with his boyfriend in Paris. When he collapses on a photoshoot, a doctor's reassurances that he doesn't have AIDS are replaced by the news that he has cancer. He refuses treatment, instead preferring to let nature take its course. The film then follows Romain in the remaining time he has left, as he tries and find some meaning to his situation and attempts to settle scores with his loved ones.

Using the backdrop of Paris to create a very urban and raw background to Romain's short journey towards dieing, the feel of Time to Leave is one of quiet resignation. Romain is never melodramatic or pathetic, but rather numb towards the tragedy of his situation. Seeking to feel anything rather than the pain of loss, he is cruel to those around him and refuses to tell anyone about his situation. Instead he pushes away friends and family, engages in rough, drug fuelled sex with his boyfriend and visits the sado-masochistic depths of a gay nightclub. Here is a reminder that his days of hedonism and risk-taking are over. “I don't feel anything anymore,” he tells his boyfriend, “ just a vague sense of desire.”

Ozon chooses as his subject a man in the peak of youth who is unable to voice his concerns to those close to him; using his camera screen himself from his subjects, preferring to photograph his loved ones when they can't see him and he is about to leave them. The only person he feels he can truly confide in is his grandmother, beautifully portrayed by Jeanne Moreau.

Ozon's fascination with the beach is also evident in Time to Leave, and is both where Romain goes when he is near death and where Ozon takes him to for some of his dreamy childhood flashbacks. It is an effective backdrop for the by now physically pale and wasted Romain, who sits shivering on the beach in stark contrast to the other healthy bathers around him.

Romain's physical metamorphosis from good looking young man to shaven headed skin and bones, is exceptionally well played by Melvil Poupaud, who lost weight during filming in keeping with the role. Also a prolific filmmaker and actor, he plays Romain with the right amount of anger and empathy to produce a riveting and emotional performance.

Time to Leave is a sincere and uncompromising look at how a young man deals with the inevitability of an early death and his attempts to overcome the fear of loneliness that it evokes. Hurtling towards death Romain makes peace with his unaware family, mourning his impending death by himself, as he looks back over good times in his childhood and prepares for the end by surrounding himself with strangers. It's a stylish drama that uses strong characterisation to tell its story, and lets this and the actors' subtle performances come to the fore as its driving force.