AllMovie

This appealing film could be considered a conversational chamber piece that's based on the accumulation of small, revealing character moments. Not much happens in terms of plot or action, but there's little wasted time here; the filmmaking is remarkably efficient for a talky, low key movie. Director Patrice Leconte does manage to find time to slip some relatively unobtrusive humor into his movie, such as spoofing Once Upon a Time in the West at the beginning. But the movie's main appeal lies in the performances of the two leads. Jean Rochefort and Johnny Hallyday are both iconic figures in France, so seeing them together onscreen might not seem as significant to audiences outside their native country. Nonetheless, they have a great rapport, and Rochefort in particular is a delight to watch as he reveals the impish side to his character. The film is well crafted despite its (presumably deliberate) drab look emphasizing blues and grays. If you pay close attention, you may notice little details like how each of the two leads has his own musical theme and how characters occasionally appear abruptly in the frame instead of making a normal entrance (which happens just enough to give the movie a slightly surreal edge without being overdone). The story line may seem a bit slight, and it's open to debate whether there's real depth to the movie's role-reversal character study and whether the ending is a good fit for the rest of the film. But this is an engaging movie nonetheless.