Herald rating: * * *
The idea of a ghostwriter with writer's block sounds like pure Woody Allen. The character is a film-maker much loved in France, so it's no surprise that this wry, slightly bittersweet French comedy did so well there.
It's held aloft by a charming performance by Baer as Raphael,
a man who specialises in fast-turnaround celebrity biographies but can't write a word for himself. When he's hired to ghost the memoirs of soccer star Kevin Storena (Cornillac), things get worse. The subject starts dictating the style ("like Baudolaire [sic]," he says) and is keen on the sleazy title How to Score. But the fatal blow to Raphael's dignity is when he discovers that Storena is dating a woman he once unsuccessfully courted.
There ensues a comedy of secrets and white lies (the film's French title means "lies and betrayals") from which Raphael emerges as a man with lover's block too: despite a promising new relationship with Muriel (Croze), he remains obsessed with Claire (the leggy supermodel Elena from The Valet).
As the hapless Raphael, Baer, who looks like Alan Rickman channelling Chaplin, is the heart of the film. He maintains pace well, and the voice-over narration and pieces to camera sustain the self-mocking but always affectionate tone.
This is a literate, subtle and very amusing French comedy.
Cast: Edouard Baer, Clovis Cornillac, Alice Taglioni, Marie-Josee Croze
Director: Laurent Tirard
Running time: 90 mins
Rating: M, contains sex scenes and offensive language
Screening: Rialto
Verdict: Smart, bittersweet comedy about a ghostwriter who can't outrun his past.
