I caught this on French TV about 2 months ago, with high hopes because it features Jean Reno, but I was very disappointed. It's a romantic comedy so by definition you expect to forgive some contrived story-telling, but in return you expect some kind of narrative sleight of hand to distract you from the mechanics. Unlike fast-moving classic chick-flick When Harry Met Sally, this film is all talk and no action and it moves at a snail's pace, forcing you to deliberate over every drawn-out narrative twist.
Jean Reno plays an uptight, very private celebrity chef who is obsessively clean. Co-star Juliette Binoche is a Bohemian middle aged beautician who lives behind a mask of makeup, constantly calling her mother and trapped in a destructive relationship. The film asks us to believe that because he loans her his phone and tries to pass on a message, then meets her unpleasant boyfriend, he will offer to share his hotel room when their flights are cancelled due to a strike and that they will both begin to open up emotionally.
The performances are so subtle that they barely register, and the inevitability of the rom-com structure makes waiting through the minutiae of their developing relationship a challenge rather than a joy.
Jean Reno plays an uptight, very private celebrity chef who is obsessively clean. Co-star Juliette Binoche is a Bohemian middle aged beautician who lives behind a mask of makeup, constantly calling her mother and trapped in a destructive relationship. The film asks us to believe that because he loans her his phone and tries to pass on a message, then meets her unpleasant boyfriend, he will offer to share his hotel room when their flights are cancelled due to a strike and that they will both begin to open up emotionally.
The performances are so subtle that they barely register, and the inevitability of the rom-com structure makes waiting through the minutiae of their developing relationship a challenge rather than a joy.