CHOCOLAT Review by Jerry Saravia March 28th, 2001
"Chocolat" is the kind of syrupy, mystical fable that audiences will able to fully ingest and come back for seconds. It is simple and simple-minded enough for mainstream audiences but for others, its ambitions point to something far more than what is delivered.
As "Chocolat" opens, a brazen wind blows through the French countryside until it arrives in a small religious town where it settles upon thrusting open the doors of the local church. Inside the church are the locals, including Comte de Reynaud (Alfred Molina) who is a bit perturbed by the sudden whiff of air. Nevertheless, the wind brings in two nomadic, red-cloaked outsiders, Vianne (Juliette Binoche) and her daughter, Anouk (Victoire Thivisol). They arrive in town ready to open a delicious chocolate shop, though their timing couldn't be more off. Vianne is opening her shop during the Lent season, observed by most of the local denizens who intend on fasting. The problem is Vianne is atheist and causes turmoil with the Comte, who basically runs the town despite the fact he is only a historian. The Comte even revises the young priest's sermons to his own moralist liking!
What is Vianne to do? She has a wonderful shop full of Mayan chocolate recipes served with chili powder and whipped cream but thanks to Comte's rising intervention, she may not be able to keep any customers. It is bad enough that her darling Anouk, who has an imaginary kangaroo friend, is Vianne's illegitimate daughter. That doesn't seem to irk the crotchety, rebellious Armande (Judi Dench), Vianne's landlady, who favors Vianne's hot chocolates. Pretty soon the kleptomaniac Josephine (Lena Olin), physically abused by her cafe owner husband (Peter Stormare), moves into Vianne's shop and begins baking chocolate with her. And as luck would have it, a gypsy named Roux (Johnny Depp) arrives in town, ready to dazzle and court Vianne, causing rising temper tantrums in Comte and the town itself who oppose gypsies.
Nothing in "Chocolat" occurs that can't be predicted on some level yet it is Lasse Hallstrom's assured direction that makes up for the film's too tidy climax and formulaic structure. Hallstrom also has a gift for knowing how to handle actors and make them luminescent. Nothing could be further from the truth than Juliette Binoche, who gives new meaning to the term "incandescent." Every shot with Binoche is bright and lovely beyond words, and I can't think of a better actress to play the seductive Vianne. She is delightful, witty, beautiful and tempestuous. Comte refers to her as Satanic, but her seductive charm is in guessing what kind of chocolate her customers prefer and thus tempting them to sample it.
Alfred Molina gives one of his most magnificent performances yet, teetering on the edge between cartoonish villain and a virtuous, righteous man. His subtle glances and grimaces are terrifically timed. Dame Judi Dench also cuts another beautiful performance as the snippy landlord who is estranged from her strict daughter (Carrie-Ann Moss). Lena Olin is at her most emotionally heartfelt since "Enemies: A Love Story" as the battered wife who tries to separate herself from her loutish husband.
"Chocolat" is delightful but also fluffy, and ends with a sermon from the young priest that is superficial and preachy beyond words - the dialogue as said sounds written, not spoken. And isn't it possible that the film could have taken place in some other season besides Lent to accommodate the film's theme of how intolerance can corrupt yet can also prove to be incorruptible? Isn't it enough that a woman in a red cloak and red shoes with an illegitimate daughter comes into a Catholic town unveiling the repressed spirits of all the townsfolk with her Mayan chocolate? Still, "Chocolat" is a nice treat but it could have used the weight of films like "Like Water For Chocolate" or "Babette's Feast" to make for a richer dessert.
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