Juulia is a successful Member of the Parliament with a seemingly perfect marriage with her priest husband Matias. But when Juulia finds out Matias has had a year-long affair with Enni, she collapses. To save her marriage, Juulia invites Enni to be a part of their lives, and they start a polyamorous relationship. When Juulia explores the new rules, she falls in love with young Miska, who seems to be the most mature of the quartet. There is a lot of love in the relationships among the four, but no matter how hard they try, challenges seem to remain.

The Garden Cinema View:

Following Marija Kavtaradze's Slow and Luca Guadagnino's Challengers, here’s another film that examines the new forms romantic relationships can take outside the traditional.

Four Little Adults follows a middle-aged couple experiencing a crisis that leads them to open up to polyamory. The film’s greatest strength is that it does not preach nor condemn, but rather follows the characters' mishaps, decisions, and conflicts with genuine curiosity and unflinching honesty. Despite its dramatic depth, the film provides moments of laugh-out-loud comedy, through the interactions within this extended, unconventional family.

Finland's finest actors provide strong ensemble performances. Alma Pöysti (Fallen Leaves) is particularly impressive, a terrific actor with a magnetic camera presence.

Although Four Little Adults could go further in its exploration of tensions that arise due to the couple’s occupations (a priest and a politician), and their choice of relationship style, it still serves as a complex and humorous exploration of this largely uncharted territory.

Cast:
Alma Pöysti, Eero Milonoff, Oona Airola, Pietu Wikström