Shall We Kiss?

A scene from Shall We Kiss? Photo / Supplied

Rating:

* * *

Verdict:

A witty, dry and at times frustrating attempt to justify adultery.

Shall We Kiss?

is a lighthearted, droll and very French conversation about love and lust written and directed by the film's star, Emmanuel Mouret (

Change of Address

).

Mouret questions whether you can follow your desires, avoid hurting any innocent parties involved, and keep some sense of morality. He's like a French Woody Allen, with his comical twists and turns, vacuous characters, and endless analysing and chit chat.

It takes a while to get into the groove of

Shall We Kiss?

: the first 20 minutes are particularly irritating. First, we are introduced to a couple of attractive characters, but just as we're getting interested in them the focus of this comedy shifts to another story within the story, and introduces us to another couple who don't have quite the same instant charm.

The first couple, our storytellers Emilie (Julie Gayet) and Gabriel (Michael Cohen), meet on the streets of Nantes. Emile is visiting from Paris on business, and when she can't find a taxi Gabriel offers her a lift. There is obvious chemistry between the two, and when Emilie accepts Gabriel's invitation to dinner you're curious about what might happen between these two strangers.

As it turns out, the answer is not much at all. Emilie and Gabriel discuss the possibility of a goodnight kiss, but Emilie is hesitant, launching into the comedy's main plot about a couple she knows in Paris, Judith (Ledoyen) and Nicolas (Mouret), who discovered just how traumatic an innocent kiss could be.

From here on in, we're mostly focused on Judith; a scientist married to Claudio (Stefano Accorsi), and her best friend Nicolas, a narcissist maths teacher, who claims to suffer from an affliction which he calls a "lack of affection". Nicolas manages to convince Judith to help him recover from this crippling ailment by letting him make love to her.

Judith agrees to Nicolas' plan, and the talking continues as the two methodically and awkwardly go about having sex. While it all seems passionless, and a little silly, the two are surprised to discover they are in love with each other, although it is something they never really convince us of.

Mouret's characters are determined purely by this romantic dilemma. Living in their own world, they don't exist outside their relationship, something he highlights by creating sparse, personality-less sets.

This keeps the focus on Nicolas and Judith but it also emphasises how self-obsessed they are.

They are a hard couple to like, and it takes pretty much the duration of the film for them to win you over, but when they do, you realise that

Shall We Kiss?

is more truthful and observant on the subject of human attraction than its naive, light, chatty tone initially leads you to believe.

Francesca Rudkin

Cast:

Virginie Ledoyen, Emmanuel Mouret

Director:

Emmanuel Mouret

Running time:

102 mins

Rating:

PG (contains sexual references)