Movie Review: Roman De Gare

Here for the traditional French Film Festival this escapade revels in chic elegance. Using a backdrop of a television interview our story makes effective use of flashback to reveal the goings on with a prominent author. Fame and fortune seem to have come easy for Judith Ratlizer. Consider her the grand dame of French fiction, a woman who by all accounts was the equivalent to J.K. Rowling in terms of national popularity. Now everyone knows that success can be fleeting and that often the people at the top rely on various underlings to get them to the summit.

While Ms. Ratlizer adores the public limelight her secretary Pierre Laclas is in a league all by himself. Unhappy at home our Pierre encounters a woman in the dumps so to speak one calm rainy afternoon. Huguette is in a rut and in need of help so Pierre reluctantly agrees to play her game.

So begins a unique bit of fiction that passes for reality as the two become embroiled in each other’s lives with smashing results. While this pair of newly minted strangers become friends all the time our dashing bookworm has some plans of his own. What occurs next is an excellent case of mystery and treachery as somehow Ms. Ralitzer’s career becomes fodder for additional excitement as her real life takes on all the charms of a character from one of her bestselling novels.

Fiction mixes with reality in a sensational story that runs full circle. Standout acting from the three leads fully wraps you into both their real and fictitious pursuits. Man of over 100 credits Dominique Pinon weighs in a commanding performance as a nerdy secretary who may have more than getting coffee on his mind.