ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies

GERARD DEPARDIEU makes so many films that it is all too easy to take his talent for granted. It seems a long time since he dazzled us with a performance in the league of ‘Jean de Florette’ or ‘Cyrano De Bergerac’.

All that changes with ‘The Singer’, a sentimental love story in which Depardieu gives his most fully realised and endearing performance for years. It may be an unashamedly old-fashioned film, but it is also beautifully acted and extremely touching.

Depardieu plays Alain Moreau, a nightclub crooner in Clermont-Ferrand with an easygoing, self-deprecating manner who makes a modest living in local nightclubs, tea dances and personal appearances.

One night he meets estate agent Marion (Cecile de France) and they wind up in bed. A one-night stand is easy but romance proves to be much more difficult as a wary Marion refuses to let herself surrender to Alain’s charm offensive.

‘The Singer’ may sound like a predictable May-to-September romance but it develops in unexpected ways and resists every temptation to overplay the situation. Director Xavier Giannoli’s screenplay has an unforced humour and a sense of compassion for the characters.

This is an affair of the heart in which the physical attraction is secondary. We believe in these people and the feelings they have for each other.

When Alain develops throat problems there is a danger of veering towards tearjerking melodrama that is mercifully avoided. Even the ending is bittersweet and open to interpretation.

Played with delicate understanding by both Cecile de France and the mighty Depardieu, this is one of the most accessible and pleasurable French-language movies of the year.

Selected nationwide release

Director: Xavier Giannoli
Stars: Gerard Depardieu, Cecile de France, Mathieu Almaric, Christine Citti, Patrick Pineau
Screenwriter: Xavier Giannoli
Certificate: 12A
Running time: 113 mins
Country: France
Year: 2006

© Allan Hunter, 2007