Delicacy: Movie Review

Delicacy: Movie Review

Cast: Audrey Tautou, Francois Damiens, Bruno Todeschini, Pio Marmai
Director: David Foenkinos

The hazel eyed French fondant Audrey Tautou returns in this latest romantic outing, guaranteed to leave you misty eyed by its end.

Tautou plays Nathalie, a woman deeply in love with her perfect husband Francois (Marmai) and their perfect live together- however, one day when Francois heads out on a run, he doesn't return. Nathalie is woken by a phone call, urging her to head to the hospital - but she is too late.

Mourning Francois, she throws herself into her work and three years pass. Suddenly, one day, and on a whim after a throwaway comment that she's not living her life, she kisses colleague Markus (Damiens), a Swedish schlub who's about a million miles away from her perfect previous husband in looks, charm and social grace.

But Markus is entranced by the kiss - and gradually, the pair begin to bond....Nathalie may once have found and lost the one, but is she now on the verge of finding another one.

Delicacy is as romantic a film as you'd expect from the hazel-eyed Tautou - it's also likely to garner the words sweet and charming. Not that those are bad things to aim for - and will certainly ensure a series of bums on seats for its release.

And yet, it's all froth and very little substance.

Once the film gets over its initial vein of sadness, there's little else for it to go except into ever-so-slightly quirky and lightly humorous territory as it explores the possibility that a fatter, balder Swedish man rather than Nathalie's original husband, who's chiselled to perfection, could offer some salvation to her extended mourning.

Tautou is as watchable as ever and the script is certainly peppered with humorous moments scattered throughout but the whole film, overall, feels slightly insubstantial. She certainly brings the emotion to the fore in her character but there's never any real depth which will deeply engage the audience. Damiens is a good foil to Tautou's good looks; his slightly scruffy, unkempt and jumper loving Swede is exactly the tonic which is needed to punctuate this romantic fluff - and his awkwardness will strike a chord with many watching on.

Overall, Delicacy has charm and humour - but the romantic swirl does exactly what you'd expect it to do and if that's what you're in the mood for, then dive on in - it's perfectly pleasant and diverting for a couple of hours in the cinema.

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