Review of French Film (2008) by Dave N — 16 May 2013

In "French Film," struggling with the preparation for an interview with noted film director Thierry Grimandi(Eric Cantona) is the least of Jed's(Hugh Bonneville) problems as his ten-year relationship with Cheryl(Victoria Hamilton) has just taken a turn for the worse recently when she turned down his marriage proposal. So, they are now in couples counseling. At least, their friends Marcus(Douglas Henshall) and Sophie(Anne-Marie Duff) are doing much better, even with the threat of a bit of Marcus' past returning back into his life.

"French Film" is an amiable enough movie with a likable cast(it's nice to see Douglas Henshall smile for a change) that barely acknowledges an incident that could be thought of as emotional rape which dwarfs any discussion of journalistic ethics. Otherwise, the movie resembles a Woody Allen film (or Woody Allen doing European films) more than the French films it seems to be commenting on. A large part of that involves separating the fiction from the reality in a relationship as the movie makes a great case for it not being important how two people meet("Scandal" has the exception to this rule) but rather how much they love each other.(The movie implies that there is something seriously wrong in Jed's waiting 10 years to propose whereas it could have just been a case of not wanting to wreck a good thing.) For example, most of the significant people I have known in my life I have met in incredibly insignificant ways.