- Directed by Lasse Hallström.
- Screenplay by Robert Nelson Jacobs, from the novel by Joanne Harris.
- (This is a re-watch.)
- I love this movie, and think it’s disappointing & a shame that it doesn’t get talked about much these days. To me, it’s no great mystery as to why it hasn’t maintained a spot on film critics’ ‘Great Films’ lists – and that reason has nothing to do with the movie’s stellarness or overall quality; it gets left out because it’s a film about a woman & her daughter, their female friends, & chocolate.
Why put a super high-quality film that champions strong women & celebrates femininity in your (highly important) summaries of Critical Praise, when you can put super high-quality films that champion strong men & celebrate masculinity on there, instead? You might get laughed at! Because everyone knows that movies about women, liked by women should be defaultedly classified as lightweight, no-account projects, right?
(Sigh.)
- Let’s not forget that after it came out, CHOCOLAT received five Academy Award nominations, and NOT in lightweight, no-account categories – it was nominated for Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay, & Best Original Score. Truly, it is a great movie – and we should really attempt to remember it as such.
- I adore the intro music to this film, as well as the way it leads into (Adult) Anouk’s opening narration:
“Once upon a time, there was a quiet little village in the French countryside, whose people believed in ‘tranquillité’ – tranquility.”
The music is so…tinkily enchanting…but with a hint of mystery! Every time I hear it (and the words “Until…one winter day, a sly wind blew in from the north”), I just want to curl up under a warm blanket & be swept away by this wonderful tale.
- The film does a solidly impressive job quickly & wordlessly introducing our main town characters, as they’re sitting in their church pews. As the story plays out, we discover that the snippets we see here are spot on in terms of the information they convey regarding these characters’ personalities; the sequence is very efficient filmmaking, in this way.
Also related to this introductory sequence – the decision to have the camera travel with the wind above & then through the town was fantastic. That piece of camerawork is so compelling, both from a visual & narrative perspective.
- Alfred Molina is immediately so stiffly disapproving (with a touch of moral panic) in his expressions, mannerisms, & tone of voice – we instantly know that this dude is not gonna be our pal. He does a tremendous job in his role as the Comte, from start to finish.
- The way the voiceover narration is utilized in the character exposition sequence that follows Molina’s first appearance is an absolutely exquisite example of voiceover storytelling & how to succeed at it. First, it’s used to tell us intimate character background information that enriches our understanding of that person & the story as a whole, that we’d probably never have access to otherwise. Second, it’s written in a way that allows the voiceover to interact with the images we’re seeing in an engagingly clever way – so often, voiceovers either blandly narrate exactly what you’re seeing, or (on the other end of the Tiresome Spectrum) have actually very little to do with the visual action that’s occurring. Here, however, it’s almost as if there’s a dialogue between the two (one such example: the Comte pushing the framed picture of the Comtesse in front of his croissant…after the narrator has finished telling us about the Comte’s pride in “hard work, modesty, self-discipline”).
- Ha. Having just recently also re-watched THE MATRIX (1999) – it’s a little disorienting to suddenly see Carrie-Anne Moss appear as pastel-wearing, soft-and-frilly Caroline Clairmont here.
A thousand bravos on your character choices in these back-to-back years, man. Wow.
- I love the creativity of the shots of the new, in-progress Chocolaterie we’re shown, through the gaps in the newspapers pasted on the shop’s windows. Plus, this accompanying dialogue:
Peaking Boy 1: “I heard she’s an atheist.”
Peaking Boy 2: “What’s that?”
Peaking Boy 1: “Dunno.”
- Never, ever watch this movie without first making sure you have chocolate in your pantry and/or your pockets. Sweet Jesus, the shots all of Vianne’s creations are delicious. Welcome to Droolsville, Population: Me.
- Juliette Binoche plays Vianne with such an exquisite brightness & confidence of spirit. There are lots of marvelous things & people in this film – but Binoche’s performance is the #1 reason that watching it is such an enduringly joyful experience. She just glows here.
- Luc (Aurelien Parent Koenig)’s sketches are so horrifyingly & grotesquely morbid. Like…I know we’re supposed to applaud his creative freedom & artistic talent…but honestly? I would be really fucking concerned & not at all enthused if I saw shit like that coming from my 8? 9?-year-old kid’s brain.
Caroline, you’re an uptight, worrywart perfectionist who needs to chill – but also – I kind of support your unsupport of your boy’s bloody demon cartoons.
- Somehow, I always seem to forget Leslie Caron is in this (as elegant, longtime widow Madame Audel, the object of darling Mr. Guillaume Biérot (John Wood)’s affections).
“Not that war.” / “It was quite a blow to Madamoidelle.”
Baha! So good.
- Boooo! The Comte’s mean-spirited, ill-intentioned, gossipy visit to the beauty parlor. Boooo!
- Hugh O’Conor is so goddamn cute as quiet, goldenheart rebel Father Henri. His clandestine, snow-sweeping Elvis moves are one of the images that comes to mind, whenever I think about CHOCOLAT.
(The other image is Johnny Depp eyeing that squeaky door hinge……but we’ll get to that later.)
- Armande (Judi Dench)’s response to Vianne’s chocolate fortune spinner: “I see a cranky old woman too tired to play games.”
Ha. Oh, you.
- Josephine (a magnificent Lena Olin) spitting out the one piece of chocolate Vianne’s brought her – instead of just finishing & swallowing it – when Evil Husband Serge (a very effective Peter Stormare) calls her name from the other room tells you EVERYTHING about the pair’s relationship, no words or further explanation needed.
Such a rich moment…that is excellently written & acted.
- The image of Charlie’s paws & Mr. Biérot’s shoes sticking out of the confessional booth is an hilarious one. Plus – the back & forth of the scene is so well-handled by both Wood & O’Conor. (“At her age?” an adorably flabbergasted Father Henri reply-asks to Biérot’s nervous words. “At your age?!”).
“If Charlie has no soul…then there’s no harm in him breaking Lent…”
(Haaaaa.)
- The scene in which Armande reads her rotten, miscreant poetry to a delighted Luc seems like the right time to bust in & give major kudos to both the costume designer (Renee Ehrlich Kalfus) and set decorator (Stephenie McMillan) for nailing the tonal atmosphere of these characters & this world. The aesthetics of this film are so consistently, cohesively gorgeous – I can’t even articulate how much I love it all.
- “Tell him to repent on someone else’s head.” — Josephine
What a champion line.
- I don’t love the comedic tone with which Evil Serge’s attempted/forced reformation is played. His roles in this story & this film are so unfunny that it feels wrong to play any part of it for laughs.
(I guess the argument could be made that treating his church lessons & makeover so lightly makes the audience more aware/sympathetic to the fact that the Comte does not take this man seriously – and certainly does not foresee him acting in any sort of brazenly horrendous, very-seriously-consequenced way later? Maybe…?)
- “I bet he’s the captain!” Anouk (Victoire Thivisol) declares, as she looks upon guitar-strumming, ponytailed, Irish-accented river rat (or, as Anouk also describes him, “pirate”) Roux (Johnny Depp), when he makes his first appearance down at the riverbank.
- But also: let’s just pause for a second & slow clap the indescribable levels of swoonworthiness that Depp achieves in this part.
I mean…goddamn, y’all.
(For the record: I genuinely believe that this is the handsomest, most alluring character Johnny Depp has ever inhabited onscreen – which, let’s be honest – is really saying something.)
- “Who says I can’t use a skillet?” — Josephine (the Brave)
Um…Sam in LOTR: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING (2001), anyone?
- I know we’re supposed to look at Caroline as one of the “enemies” in this tale – but isn’t it pretty badass for a movie to make such an “enemy” character a determined, self-sufficient, independent-minded, single mother? Like…what a movie, to have one of the “villains” also be an awesomely strong woman, in addition to the whole group of badass female leads we already have on the “hero” side of things.
- “I’ll come ’round sometime and get that squeak out of your door,” says Roux to Vianne as she walks away from delivering his party invitation.
That, my friends…is my toast line. T-O-A-S-T. Toast.
- (I would like to mention! That I am not commenting on Roux’s attractiveness exclusively based on his physical qualities. Yes, yes – it’s true that he’s absolutely gorgeous – but Roux’s allure also stems from the way Depp infuses the character with the combination of warmth, sass, & confidence that he does. That is a deadly trifecta of traits for a man to possess, y’all. And he has a clear, deep-rooted respect for Vianne & her capable independence?!? And he plays slide guitar?!?!?
Lord almighty.
- Vianne setting Armande’s birthday dessert on Roux’s boat is such a power play and obviously, I love it.
- As the end approaches, the mesmerizingly fantastic scenes stack up in a hurry – Juliette Binoche (& in a brief-but-excellent moment, Lena Olin)’s reaction to finding Anouk after Evil Serge sets the riverbank on fire – she fucking goes for it, man – with the mud & the leaves & the guttural tears. Then – Roux coming to say goodbye to Vianne at the shop, and how few complete sentences are actually said, because at this point, the pair only needs the first several words of a thought to understand what the other is thinking/expressing (both Depp & Binoche nail the hell out of this scene). Then – the ‘Caroline Building the Bicycle’ scene…the emotions of which Carrie-Anne Moss gets flat-out perfect.
This movie is so good, you guys. The organization of the storytelling is phenomenal, and the way the emotions of each storyline are woven together is expertly done.
- In case anyone was hesitant to accept my earlier assessment that Caroline – despite her moral uptightishness – is a badass…her “I don’t believe anyone would think less of you, if you were to say she was never coming back” (translation: ‘Cut the shit, Mayor Man’) to the Comte knocks such hesitancy straight to hell, don’t you think?
“Goodnight, Paul.”
What a move!!!
- There you go again, Anouk, JUST THROWIN’ GRANDMA DOWN THE STAIRS!
…Teehee. Jussst kidding.
- A little more on the subject of badassery: you know how un-badass the Comte is? He gets an idea from Jesus while holding a dagger…but instead of using said shiny Jesus dagger to, you know, go stab a person – his brilliant idea of ULTIMATE REVENGE (!!!) is to go stab some……chocolates.
What kind of man decides the most vengeful, damaging thing he can do is…knife some artsy pieces of chocolate? That may be the lamest bit of revenge I have ever seen play out onscreen.
Good luck with your boy, Caroline.
Good. Fucking. Luck.
- I will say, however, that Alfred Molina plays the chowdown-breakdown like a goddamn master. He really, truly owns that shit.
- “Listen – here’s what I think. I think we can’t go around measuring our goodness by what we don’t do, by what we deny ourselves, what we resist, and who we exclude. I think we’ve got to measure goodness by what we embrace, what we create, and who we include.”
Hallelujah amen, Father Henri!
That‘s the fucking golden* ticket!
(*Oops. That’s the other Johnny Depp chocolate movie. My bad!)
- “My mother knew Roux’s return had nothing to do with the silly old door. So did I.”
Oh, geez. I love it so much!!!
- In conclusion:
Smile on, Mr. StatueMan. Smile on.
And RIP, Pantoufle.
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