David (sensibly haired Mouret, also on scripting and directing duties), a French horn player, is besotted with his student Julia (inscrutable Valette).
Helping him in wooing his love is his flatmate Anne (tight-sweatered Bel), a Phoebe-from-Friends eccentric whose advice often spills over into rampant come-ons and is handy for a pretty shoulder to cry on when the rugged Julien (Gallic Clive Owen-alike Brillant) repeatedly reappears to spirit Julia away. And unlike David’s obsession, Anne’s boyfriend may or may not be real.
Attractively shot with warm autumnal browns and sensitively played, Mouret’s film may take a well-worn romantic route, but there are surprising detours in a script that resists painting anyone in dark shades, and has sufficient levels of left-of-field funnies to keep the chuckles coming.
The quirky characters will annoy those not in the mood, but on the basis of this Mouret may be resurrecting the urbane romcom Nora Ephron once ruled over, but with writing that may soon match Woody Allen at his best.
Romance with a capital “ahhhh”.
Rob Daniel
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