Guillaume Canet’s accessible thriller Tell No One has inspired an American remake, and you can imagine this French follow-up getting the same treatment. A witty relationships drama, it stars Canet’s partner Marion Cotillard as a Parisian in a tight-knit group of friends — mostly couples, mostly thirtysomething, some with kids, some without. Every year, they head out of the city for the beach house owned by Max (François Cluzet) for sun, sea and considerable amounts of wine. But this year, they have a dilemma: one of the group, Ludo (Jean Dujardin), has been hurt in a motorbike accident. Should they leave him in the hands of the hospital and head off regardless?
The decision is, of course, yes, and a comedic vacation drama ensues. Characters are well-developed and running jokes deliver. First up, married Vincent (Benoît Magimel) decides that he’s in love with his friend Max: a straight, uptight control freak who’s both horrified and confused by the declaration. Instead of tackling this head-on, Max lets it fester, and his already substantial anger-management problem threatens to explode amid the bemusement of his holidaying friends. It’s an amusing and occasionally sensitive portrait of two male friends struggling with complicated, unexpected emotions.
The biggest laughs come from the recently jilted Antoine (Laurent Lafitte), who’s obsessing about text messages from his ex and boring each member of the group in turn with his attempts at analysis. Cotillard’s Marie, meanwhile, is a single woman who seems to find little comfort in handsome lovers and slightly more in smoking weed. While their actions are exaggerated for comic effect, these aren’t stereotypes: they’re probably a lot like people you know.
While sharp character observations keep the black comedy going strong, this is slightly less successful on the dramatic front. It’s fitfully poignant, but the closing idea is that all of these self-obsessed friends have been telling each other lies for years — lies that all spill out under pressure. It’s an over-simplification of what is, essentially, a portrait of a group of mates on holiday. Unfortunately, trying to shoehorn it into a theme doesn’t really work.
It’s also hard to relate to their apparent neglect of their hospitalised friend, who only comes into their thoughts occasionally. Canet finally tackles this theme when many will be shifting in their seats: at 154 minutes, this is far from the breezy little comedy it first appears. Still, as ensemble relationships dramas go, this one’s well worth taking the rough with the smooth.
