Nora’s Will

The debut feature from writer-director Mariana Chenillo, having racked up an unprecedented slew of Mexican Academy Awards, now makes its way into the American consciousness. A sometimes clunky and sentimental affair, it’s carried by Fernando Luján, quite good as a grumpy old atheist who discovers that his ex-wife’s suicide was planned to force him and the rest of their broken family—with attendant clashing Catholic and Jewish factions—into a Passover reunion. Secrets will out, in mostly hushed tones, unhurried pacing, nonaggressive camera moves and careful lighting. Leavening solemnity with deadpan humor, both periodically too emphatic, Chenillo handles her material too gingerly, but her gentle disposition and emotional attunement do augur a promising career.