Directed by Guillaume Canet
Starring François Cluzet, Marion Cotillard, Jean Dujardin
154 minutes
Opens May 20, 2011
*** stars out of five
Ludo (Jean Dujardin) loves to party; after a rowdy night out with friends at a Parisian club, he gets into a serious scooter accident and is rushed to the intensive care unit. Despite his grave situation, his friends decide to continue with their annual beach vacation plans. Their abandonment of Ludo eventually starts to weigh heavily on them as the holiday adventure unfolds.
Why See It?
This comedy/drama might be of interest to avid foreign film fans due its cast of popular French actors. The mismatch of the different characters and their interactions with each other is by far the best attribute of this flick.
There is the older, successful restaurateur and macho-host Max (François Cluzet) who is unnerved after finding out that his best friend Vincent (Benoit Magimel) has fallen in love with him. Then there is the lovesick Antoine (Lauren Lafitte) and the handsome womanizer Eric (Gilles Lellouche) who decide they must return to Paris together and against all odds try to woo back their love interests whether it means climbing through bedroom windows or begging for another chance. And my favourite, the sweet sexually-confused pot-smoking rebel Marie (Marion Cotillard) who doesn’t feel the need to make a commitment to anyone but is a friend to everyone.
The main drawback of Little White Lies (Les Petits Mouchoirs) is its running time of 2½ hours – a little too long; many of the scenes of wine drinking, eating, hugging, kissing and noisy natterings start to blur – as a result, the story loses some of its drive and momentum. Despite their dramas and tribulations, the end scene was somewhat stale and forced when the friends reunite for Ludo.
English Subtitles