The world fell in love with French ingénue Audrey Tautou in 2001 thanks to Jean-Pierre Jeunet's thoroughly enchanting romance Amélie. Since then, we've watched Tautou be romanced again and again onscreen, and yet it never gets old. With her sweet smile and undeniable sparkle, she's a lady made to lead love stories. However, her latest romantic-comedy La délicatesse--or Delicacy--offers a slight change-up from her earlier efforts. Instead of falling for a gorgeous young man with a boyish charm, and after some delightful misunderstandings, following him off into their shiny happy ever after, Tautou plays Nathalie, a woman who falls for the gorgeous guy—but abruptly loses him in a fatal accident. However, rather than this being some sort of gender-swapped One Day, this grim turn of events serves only as Delicacy's first act.
Based on author-turned-writer/director David Foenkinos' novel, Delicacy's story takes off while Nathalie, in the midst of her mourning, is looking to burying herself deep in her work. Yet in spite of herself, she soon feels a spark with her oafish but dear colleague, played by comedian Francois Damiens. Obviously with his goofy grin and lack of supermodel good looks Damiens is not your typical rom-com hero, however, the Belgian actor, who most often garners comedic supporting roles in ventures like Heartbreaker and JCVD, has proven to be an incredible joy to watch time and time again. I'm game to see he and Tautou pair off in an unlikely onscreen duo; it could prove to be downright delectable!
Delicacy is set to hit theaters Stateside March 16th.
