"Are there schools for 40-year-olds to prepare them for the second half of life?" Carl Jung asked years ago. No, there aren't, and we must all face the stock-taking of middle age in our own way. This is a time to look hard at who we are, assess what we have become, and look at all the pleasures and disappointments that have accumulated over the years.
Love and work are the two main arenas where men and women at midlife usually try to break out of old habits that have become a prison. Or stated another way, they try to become conscious of their self-created restrictions. Photojournalist Hank (Terry Kinney) has invested most of his time and energy in his career. Now, at 39 he's forced to deal with Constance (Ellen Muth), his 13-year-old daughter who's put under his watch when his ex-wife leaves the country for a three-month honeymoon.
Hank's life is further complicated by Erin (Mili Avital), his 26-year-old girlfriend who is very much in love with him. She's quite miffed that he's never introduced her to Constance even though they've been going out for a year. His boss Giovanna (Diane Venora) wants Hank to put more time in on his work since he's just been nominated for a prestigious Humanitas Award. Their relationship has also been a sexual one.
Writer and director James Ryan invests this touching drama with emotional power and deft psychological nuances. Hank's daughter Constance is the catalyst who enables her father to pull himself out of the rut he's in. The Young Girl and the Monsoon makes it clear that staying asleep in the middle of the show is not an option — the second half of life beckons us onward to explore new options in both love and work.