The Chef's Wife

From the school of frothy French comedies comes this enjoyable film pairing two renowned actresses, Karin Viard and Emmanuelle Devos, as not-quite-friends who nevertheless alter one another's destinies. Marithé (Viard) is a career counselor who maintains a distance from her clients' personal lives. But that proves difficult with Carole (Devos), a bored and restless co-owner of a gourmet restaurant, who rushes toward Marithé like a speeding comet, caught up in a professional and personal midlife crisis. Carole's business partner is her moody, dissatisfied husband, Sam (Roschdy Zem), a famous chef. Marithé tries to keep space between herself and Carole, but something about this unhappy if successful woman awakens Marithé to her own sense of emptiness. The Chef's Wife evolves into sophisticated farce as Marithé falls for Sam and begins morphing into Carole's life, just as the latter seriously begins a fresh start. Co-writer and director Anne Le Ny knows that the film's comic energy largely lies in the charged scenes with Viard and Devos, who riff off each other's ever-shifting emotional tones. A handsome-looking film that will also appeal to foodies with its array of mouthwatering dishes, this is recommended. (T. Keogh)