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Review by Susan Granger
3 stars out of 4
"Once upon a time, there was a quiet little village in the
French countryside, where people believed in tranquillity. You knew
your place in the scheme of things and, if you happened to forget,
someone would remind you." That's the way Lasse Hallstrom ("The Cider
House Rules") begins this romantic magical fable about a mysterious
single mother (Juliette Binoche) opens a chocolate shop during Lent,
antagonizing the righteous, patriarchal Mayor (Alfred Molina) and
young priest (Hugh O'Conor) but tempting and transforming the stodgy,
drab townsfolk with her tasty confections - while teaching
tolerance. A Julia Roberts lookalike, Juliette Binoche embodies this
sensual, cocoa-obsessed woman, delving into life's dark bitterness and
frothy sweetness, as she mothers her troubled daughter (Victoire
Thivisol) and romances sexy Johnny Depp, a guitar-strumming
vagabond. Carrie Ann Moss is a repressed mother whose keeps her son
away from his feisty, outspoken grandmother, played by Judi
Dench. Hallstrom's real-life wife, Lena Olin engages as the abused
wife of brutish cafe-owner Peter Stormare but Leslie Caron has barely
a cameo as a Gallic matron. Combining a dollop of "Like Water for
Chocolate," a dash of "Tom Jones" and a pinch of "Woman on Top," the
story uses chocolate as a metaphor for pleasure, freedom and
rebellion. Adapting Joanne Harris' richly layered best-seller,
screenwriter Robert Nelson Jacobs has wisely changed the villainous
priest into a prissy nobleman. Roger Pratt's cinematography is
luscious so, although it's utterly predictable, this is a scrumptious
morsel that melts "ever so slowly on your tongue and tortures you with
pleasure." On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, "Chocolat" is a
delicious 8, a decadent, delectable treat. Indulge yourself!
Copyright © 2000 Susan Granger
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out of 4
