Review by Tom Atkinson
Stars Audrey Tautou, Nathalie Baye, Sami Bouajila, Stephanie Lagarde, Judith Chemla, Cécile Boland, Didier Brice, Daniel Duval, Patrice Bouret, Paul Morgan
Written by Pierre Salvadori & Benoit Graffin
Certification UK 12A | US R
Runtime 104 minutes
Directed by Pierre Salvadori
Hollywood has recently given us its own take on ‘interesting’ employers in Horrible Bosses, and now the French are taking their turn in new rom-com, Beautiful Lies. However, rather than an un-PC, murderous belly laugh, co-writer/director Salvadori delivers a much more delicate comedy of errors, based around a hairdresser who manages to get herself tangled in a bizarre love triangle involving her handyman and her mother (deliciously played by Baye).
Salvadori once again teams up with the star of his last rom-com, Priceless – the queen of the pixies herself, Tautou – and she’s perfectly cast as the stubborn snipper who refuses to take responsibility for her own well- meaning actions, even when they land her and those around her firmly in the merde. The setup begins when Tautou’s over-educated handyman Jean (Bouajila) decides to send her an anonymous letter detailing his profound love for her, his boss.
Audrey, who presumably gets these letters on a daily basis, chucks the emotional outpouring in the bin and thinks no more of it, until a meeting with her mum makes her decide that she has to do something to cheer the old girl up as she struggles to deal with an impending divorce from her man (and amusing Serge Gainsbourg-alike artist) – Audrey’s dad. So, she retrieves the love letter, retypes it addressed to her mother, and hopes for the best. In fact, things go even better than expected, and with her mum floating on a new-found confidence, Tautou feels the need to keep the illusion going by sending increasingly saucy letters of her own.
A series of coincidences, mishaps and sackings combine to leave Jean faced with having to romance his boss’s mother for money, all the while keeping his true love top secret. What, you saw that coming? OK. The plot is a little predictable to be fair, but Salvatori springs the trap so delightfully and the quality cast play it out with such charm and humour, that each inevitable little twist is warmly welcomed. Even the supporting cast weigh in with some great lines – particularly Chemla as shy shop assistant Paulette – and the classic timing and deadpan expressions all hit the target.
There’s definitely more than a touch of the twee to all this, although it is quite firmly a straight-up romantic comedy that makes no apologies for itself. But then, with all the elements coming together so easily in what feels like a classic genre movie, why should it?