Chocolat film review

certificate_12

CHOCOLAT

Director Lasse Hallstrom has a gift for telling poetic stories of people seeking acceptance and a sense of normality. Previous films like My Life As A Dog, What's Eating Gilbert Grape and last year's The Cider House Rules all boast characters with vivid imaginations that seek solace in fantasy to escape the harsh realities of their situation. The delicious Chocolat, based on Joanne Harris's novel, is again a gentle and charming tale of someone looking to belong, although this time Hallstrom's hero is a woman.

Juliette Binoche plays Vianne Rocher, the unmarried mother of a small daughter, Anouk (Victoire Thivisol). Her wanderlust has brought them to a small French town nestled amongst rolling hills whose idyllic charm appears plucked from atop a biscuit tin. Set in 1959, both the town and its inhabitants seem from a bygone era of innocence and simplicity.

Rocher's decision to open a chocolaterie during Lent immediately incurs the displeasure of Comte de Reynaud (Molina) the town's figurehead and moral conscience. The rest of the townsfolk find themselves torn between their faith and the alluring sights and smells offered by the new shop.

Gradually the aphrodisiacal qualities of Rocher's special recipe begin to take effect on the less pious and before long she is dispensing a sympathetic ear and advice to the locals as well as just chocolate. Her impact on the small community is immediate and great. She befriends the frightened Josephine Muscat (Olin), instilling her with the courage to finally leave her abusive husband. She also schemes to reunite her feisty landlady, Armande Voizin (Dench), with her estranged grandson while playing matchmaker for two elderly citizens.

Having begun to accept the stranger, the town's prejudices are once again piqued with the arrival of a band of gypsies whose leader (Depp) uses his charm and impossibly good looks to stir Rocher's feelings. But just when it appears she's getting settled, her restless urges threaten to disrupt things.

Beautifully photographed by Roger Pratt, Chocolat has a fairy tale look and feel to it, possessing the relaxed elegance of a European film rather than one borne by Hollywood. The setting and subject matter all add to this illusion making the decision to have the actors speaking English seem a little incongruous. Although the move is an obvious financial one, the result somehow compromises the film's authenticity.