Guillaume Canet (the French guy in The Beach, but with many other acting and directing credits) writes and directs an excellent cast in a languid tale that wonders through the lives and relationships of a group of friends holidaying in the beautiful surroundings of Cap Ferret. The mix of characters and temperaments is played nicely by an engaging collection of thesps Francaise including Marion Cotillard, Francois Cluzet, Gilles Lellouche and Jean Dujardin, and Canet gives the main characters plenty to do, with various parallel story threads pulling them together, these threads mingle to coax the film forward, but at a pace consistent with that feeling of being on holiday when nothing has quite the same imperative as it does in the world of work. Canet guides proceedings ably toward the denouements of the various strands with a gentle touch, and there is a nice variation in tone throughout, with moments of real passion, drama, comedy and conflict, perhaps tending to melodrama in places, but without tipping over into multiple Kleenex territory. Events are brought together effectively in the third act, and Canet and his cast deliver an emotional conclusion that is highly satisfying, and you might need that hankie at the end after all.
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