Lena, a single mother of two young children, takes a trip from Paris to Brittany to spend a holiday with her family at the country house. Lena's ex-husband Nigel and her love interest Simon visits them.
At Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 50% based on 8 reviews, and an average rating of 5.19/10.[6]
Ed Gonzalez of Slant Magazine gave the film 2.5 out of 4 stars, writing: "With [André] Téchiné-like expertise, Honoré delicately weaves together the dramas of his characters' lives."[7] He added: "Though those dramas aren't always interesting (one could even say the character of Frédérique is completely beside the point), Making Plans for Lena is a gorgeous tapestry nonetheless."[7] Jordan Mintzer of Variety wrote: "While Love Songs and Dans Paris revealed prolific filmmaker Christophe Honore to be a direct descendant of the French New Wave, he heads straight into Arnaud Desplechin territory with the turbulent family drama Making Plans for Lena."[8] Meanwhile, Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter commented that "Mastroianni provides a vividly intense turn in the title role, but the film's narrative diffuseness and excessive stylization defeats her best efforts."[9] He called it "a misstep from one of that country's most acclaimed filmmakers."[9]