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Men In Black 3

It’s not a sequel that needed to be made, but thanks to the charm of its leads and a tone that harks back to the wit and humour of the original, it’s a pretty enjoyable trip.

Bel Ami

The excellent female support cast saves this patchy effort, which is let down by its leading man and a flat screenplay.

The Dictator

A disappointing, often repulsive and mean-spirited mess of a film with seemingly only one real criterion on its agenda: to shock and offend.

The Woman In Black

Packed with atmosphere, this old-fashioned but deftly told ghost story delivers ample chills and thrills.

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Little White Lies (Film)

by Belinda Hazleton | June 14, 2011 14:53 | Edited June 15, 2011 16:22

While it’s propped up by the uniformly terrific cast, this feels self-indulgent and unbelievable.

For his third feature film, writer/director Guillaume Canet (Tell No One) wanted to write about his own generation, and the lives of people that he knew well. Readily admitting that he was inspired by films such as The Big Chill, he has used an ensemble cast, a soundtrack of well-known tunes that comment upon the on-screen action, and as his setting, a holiday house on France's south-eastern coast.

 

The film begins as a group of close friends prepare for their annual summer holiday together. The night before they are due to depart from Paris, however, one of them is involved in a serious motorcycle accident and is critically hurt. Meeting in his hospital room, the others decide to go ahead with their vacation, despite the extent of his injuries. They travel to the French Riviera and are soon ensconced in a magnificent seaside mansion, belonging to Max (François Cluzet). Here, they will spend two weeks eating, drinking and idling away each day, virtually never giving their sick friend a thought! Each member of the group has his or her own issues to confront, including broken relationships, concerns regarding sexuality, loyalty and the raising of children. These are explored throughout the film, often in painstaking detail.

 

Along with its excessive length and self-indulgence, the problem with Little White Lies is its basic premise - would a group of close friends abandon one of their own when he is severely injured, just to go on a holiday? This simply is not believable, given the supposed closeness of the group, and their devotion to each other. Despite the uniformly excellent performances, these are just not people that you care about or would choose to spend time with. Surprisingly, Little White Lies was a big box office success in France. C'est la vie!