Review of Chocolat (2000) by Michael Y — 23 Sep 2011

A charming, lovely, and beautiful looking movie. Chocolat combines a great cast in a smooth, beautiful story that doesn't seem to have THAT BIG of a conflict, but it is nice, none the less.

An atheist woman, Vianne, and her daughter travel and set up a Chocolate shop in the heart of a small but VERY CATHOLIC villiage..... during Lent. Her appearence is intimidating, but her chocolate is to die for. But pleasure is one thing people in the village aren't used to, especially the town mayor who's old fashioned ideology threatens Vianne's business. Chocolat isn't so much a battle with alienation and religious traditions as it is a romance story, which is why this movie isn't as good as it could have been. This movie would have been a bit more interesting if we actually have a sense of trouble and the need for Vianne to keep her shop, but apparently Vianne and her daughter can come and go as they please which diminishes the drama of the movie. And the overall theme of the movie about giving into what we want and how angry people are actually just envious of you doesn't help. Instead, the conflict is the acceptance of the towns people, which doesn't take much to win them over. The only great contribution to the movie is Alfred Molina as the religious mayor which doesn't make Catholicism look as "bad" as he attempts to makes it out to be. But out of the great flaws in story structure, this movie does make you feel like the town is changing because of Vianne and you will fall in love with chocolate after viewing this movie. It is, afterall, a good romantic movie that doesn't need a lot of thrills to make it interesting.

A biggest strength in this movie's direction is also kind of its weakness. Though this movie lacks the character struggle it desperately needs, Lasse Hallstrom, however, does give the movie a romantic charm that is hard to avoid getting caught into. It might be a horrible cliche, but this movie is paced at an acceptable, romantic level. But the best thing in this movie is the shooting locations. The filmmakers picked the best little town to shoot in. Absolutely beautiful. And the art direction and design of the sets gives this movie an even more romantic feel. Cinematography is top notch, and there are a lot of great camera shots that any film fan would enjoy. The music score by Rachel Portman gives the movie a wonderful feel as well.

It may be a little bit sloppy, and although it has Johnny Depp, his character doesn't really support the feminist theme of the movie. Chocolat may be too sweet for some (I just thought of it on the spot. Sorry for the pun) but its great acting from it's cast makes this movie entertaining and watchable. Nominated for 5 Academy Awards, Chocolat is a satisfying movie if you're in the romantic mood.