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Waste of time

Too much of everything

As Good As It Gets

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

The first thing to say about this fine movie is that there is absolutely nothing new in the content; as soon as Patrick Chesnais agrees to give a lift to Jeanne Lambert - after approximately ten to fifteen minutes - we know it's only a matter of time before the two wounded birds - one in his sixties, one around fifteen - help each other to fly again. There's a slight resemblance to Philippe Muyl's Le Papillon except there the girl was pre-pubescent but both films are excellent. On the other hand Jean Becker doesn't do mediocre and time and time again - Les Enfants du marais, effroyable jardins - he manages to satisfy our feel-good appetites as he does once again. It's good to see Miou-Miou on this side of the channel once again - though she remains active in France her recent output has been confined to 'domestic' films - albeit the lion's share of screen time is shared between the two leads. I doubt if it will draw flies at the Multiplex but that says more about them than this delightful charmer.

I am not very used to this kind of features, but from time to time I think it's refreshing ; that's the word this movie deserves. After a very depressing beginning, you slowly but surely feel better as the story continues.This tale of a depressed and nearly suicidal mooded man in his mid sixties, who escapes from his "too much normal life" and then meets a runaway teenage girl is very poignant and also unusual. Although we have already seen that before, but not too often. No one can stay "cold" watching such a so simple and heartbreaking story. Jean Becker gave us some films like this one. I would say it's just his trade mark. Don't miss it.