Little White Lies

Writer-director Guillaume Canet's follow-up to his engrossing thriller Tell No One is a disappointing French homage to The Big Chill, revolving around a group of Parisian friends (in their 30s and 40s) who go off on their annual seaside vacation together despite the fact that one member has been injured in a motorcycle accident and lies near death in a hospital. That decision suggests the extent of their self-absorption, which is demonstrated repeatedly over the course of the two-and-a-half hour running-time here as secrets are revealed, tempers flare, and reconciliation follows tragedy. The ensemble cast includes some of France's most illustrious talent—François Cluzet, as well as Oscar winners Jean Dujardin and Marion Cotillard—but all are hampered by having to portray sketchily-written characters, none more so than top-billed Cluzet, badly overplaying a married man who goes berserk over a male friend's admission that he is attracted to him. A soundtrack consisting of American pop songs from the ‘60s and ‘70s, moreover, is pleasant to listen to, but also feels curiously anachronistic. A starry but emotionally thin comedy-drama, Little White Lies is an optional purchase. (F. Swietek)