Directed by: Lasse Hallstrom
Starring: Juliette Binoche, Johnny Depp, Alfred Molina, Carrie Anne Moss, Judi Dench, Peter Stormare, Hugh O' Conor, John Wood, Leslie Caron, Lena Olin
Lasse Hallstrom's Chocolat is a quiet, whimsical, predictable film that looks beautiful, sounds beautiful, but doesn't deliver a satisfactory payoff. Things end happily for all involved, but are we moved? Not really.
Chocolat takes place in the late 1950's in a small French village which looks probably as it did three hundred years ago. It is a deeply religious town that adheres to tradition. The week centers around Sunday mass, where it seems every citizen of the town attends. One who does not is Vianne (Binoche), a newcomer who opens up a chocolate shop during Lent which provides various temptations for the townsfolk. Per the film's narrator, she came in like the North wind. The mayor Comte de Reynaud (Molina) rules the town and even writes the weekly sermons for the parish priest (O'Conor). He visits Vianne and questions her wisdom in opening a chocolate shop during Lent, which is one of many subtle ways he displays his disapproval of her and the shop. We sense there may be otherworldly things afoot with Vianne and her chocolates.
The stage is set for a showdown between Vianne, whose chocolates represent change and perhaps even paganism, and the mayor, who prefers people like Vianne and Roux (Depp), a bohemian musician who lives by the river, pack up and take their alternative to religion elsewhere. Since Roux and Vianne are vaguely in the same age range, we know they will hook up. Both Binoche (Oscar-nominated for her role here) and Depp provide Vianne and Roux with tenderness and sweetness in the face of intolerance. Vianne wins over some locals with her superior chocolates and pleasant manner. The shop represents a respite from the strict adherence to religious doctrine which basically takes all the fun out of life for these poor residents.
Some of those who refuse to be converted to the church of Vianne include the mayor, Caroline (Moss), whose mother is Vianne's defiant, stubborn landlord (Dench) and with whom she maintains a distant relationship, and Serge (Stormare), and abusive husband whose wife Josephine takes shelter at the shop. Except for Serge, who is incorrigible, the others will soon see the light. de Reynaud's wife is "away in Italy", but is most likely gone for good. He wields his power as a mask for his pain and his disappointment that God hasn't made his wife return to him.
I wonder why in movies religious people are seen as hateful, intolerant jerks who get their kicks out of denying themselves and everyone even a hint of pleasure. While I'm not a religious person, I know the fanatical zealots are a minority. Yet, in films like Chocolat, Footloose, and in a secular way Pleasantville, those moralists behave so irrationally it is a wonder why they have any followers at all. What is more fun? Hanging around a churl like de Reynaud or the sweet hottie Vianne?
It is no contest. However, history has shown that these religious minorities hold a lot of sway with those who cower at their every word. Perhaps my view is a bit too utopian.
The scenes in which the scales fall from the eyes of the locals do not hold much impact. I'm happy for them, but not much moved. Roux and Vianne make a good-looking couple, but their romance is by rote. Molina is a master at subtle villainy disguised as pleasantry, but his fate is inevitable. So we wait for him to change, but when it does it does not reward us for our patience.
Chocolat is a nice film; breezy, light, and luxuriously photographed, but not compelling enough when all is said and done. I admire the performances all the more for a story that we've seen done many times before and better.
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