Review of Chocolat (2000) by Brendan V — 16 Feb 2011

All in all, a good movie, but not quite a great one. The film is lifted by the performances - there's not a bad one in the bunch. Binoche carries the film effortlessly, while Dench, Molina, and Olin (!) provide some great work on the sidelines. Carrie Ann-Moss impressed me in a sort of role I never would have pegged her for and the the two children in the film are also very impressive and not distracting in the least (as some child actors are). However, while Johnny Depp turns in an understated, good, and non-flashy performance, it is definitely not his best work. (Wait...is that an Irish accent? Oh yeah it is....wait....no? What?).

The storyline is rather ho-hum but the film is enchanting enough for that not to matter much. The music is nice as well. Thematically, I thought the anti-church theme (if you want to call it that) was off-base both in the beginning and the end of the film. While the town was obviously completely rejecting the people who were "immoral" and needed love from their neighbors perhaps the most, it seemed to be more about "Hey! People sleep around and sell stolen goods. Who cares! Let's ignore it instead." Which isn't exactly an idea that I would endorse but I think the decisions made were definitely a step in the right direction. And all in all, that was all the town really needed within the context of the film: a first step.