|
Romantics Anonymous
| Released |
16 December 2011 |
| Director |
Jean-Pierre Améris |
Starring
|
Isabelle Carré, Benoît Poelvoorde, Jaques Boudet, Lorella Cravotta, Lise Lamétrie |
Writer(s)
|
Jean-Pierre Améris, Philippe Blasband |
Producer(s)
|
Nathalie Gastaldo, Philippe Godeau |
| Origin |
France, Belgium |
| Running Time |
80 minutes |
| Genre |
Comedy, romance |
| Rating |
12A |
|
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An awkward romance.
For a people with such a reputation for serious, po-faced intellectualism, the French really do like their light comedies. When they get them wrong, like with François Ozon’s Potiche, they can be horrifically irritating. But when they get them right, as with Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Amélie, their charm can turn them into a worldwide smash hit. Jean-Pierre Améris’s little film probably won’t have that type of reach, but it’s certainly a satisfying effort that will please most of the people who come across it.
Angélique (Isabelle Carré) is a woman in her late thirties whose life has been badly affected by her constant anxiety and panic attacks. She tells her therapy group about how her love of chocolate led her to train as a chef. Despite having a real gift for creating top-class chocolate her crippling shyness meant she was unable to pursue her dream. An old chef took pity on her though and working anonymously for him, her chocolate gained a huge reputation. However when he died, she had no outlet for her talents.
So she makes a huge effort to appear normal and applies for a job at a struggling chocolate factory. The owner Jean-René (Benoît Poelvoorde) appears at first to be a very serious, dour man. Surprisingly he hires her on the spot though, but as a chocolate sales rep not a chocolate-maker. He confides in her that the business is nearly bankrupt and that he really needs her to turn the company around by selling as much product as possible.
However, we soon see that Jean-René’s gruff exterior is just a front and he too is crippled by anxiety and nervousness. When he tells his psychiatrist about meeting Angélique, he suggests Jean-René ask her out to dinner as an exercise in social interaction. So they go out on possibly the most hilariously disastrous first date in cinematic history.
A mortified Jean-René expects Angélique to quit after it but she turns up for work the next day and he finds himself falling in love with her. The feeling is mutual for Angélique but she soon realises that the only way she can save the business is if she starts making her chocolate for them. Using a cover story to hide her identity, she starts to help the business turn its fortunes around but can she and Jean-René conquer their impediments to live happily ever after?
This is a lovely, funny little film that relies heavily on the two leading performers for much of its charm. Isabelle Carré is in great form as Angélique, a mass of neuroses but with an inner strength she doesn’t even know she possesses. Possibly even better though is Benoît Poelvoorde, a Belgian actor who some may remember from the early Nineties serial-killer film Man Bites Dog. Poelvoorde makes Jean- René an unlikely hero, overcoming his desperate anxiety to make a stab at creating a meaningful life for himself.
It’s interesting to contrast how the French treat ‘the comedy of embarrassment’. In Britain and America, these types of comedies seem to love to wallow in the humiliation of their protagonists, Ricky Gervais’s work being a prime example. The French take a different approach though and while we’re laughing at these people, we’re very much rooting for them as well. It all builds up to a surprisingly moving finale.
Overall this is a sweet little treat, as light as one of Angélique’s chocolates but worth taking a chance on.
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Jim O’Connor |
