Little White Lies (DVD)

For all intents and purposes, I will have to call Little White Lies a love story. I don’t mean one of those tedious, consistently drab Rom-Coms usually starring Jennifer Anniston; I mean a story about love in many different forms.

When Ludo, a charismatic, fun-loving man, gets into a near-fatal crash on his motorcycle after a night of drinking, his group of friends come together to decide what their next move should be. After a brief visit to the hospital, they decide that there isn’t much they can do for Ludo at the present time and head off on a previously-planned holiday to Max’s beach house.

Although this sounds selfish and un-thoughtful, it is abundantly clear that the incident has a huge effect on the group. The group comprises of Max (Francois Cluzet), a wealthy, bad-tempered restaurateur, Eric (Gilles Lellouche), a meat-seeking actor, Vincent (Benoit Magimel), a sexually-confused physiotherapist and Marie (Marion Cotilllard), a disconnected chain-smoker with a fear of commitment.

The plot is not exactly innovative or original (being a film about self-discovery whilst on holiday), but director Guillaume Canet (Tell No One) has managed to create a film that shines brightly amongst hundreds of others of its kind. The characters are immersive, as I began to actually care about their development as the film progressed. Usually in films like this, the dialogue and activities seem weirdly forced; however Canet has created scenes of the group having fun that feel genuinely natural.

Perhaps it is down to the exceptional acting skills of the film’s cast, or quality directing, but I found it hard not to laugh along with the group’s jokes or the humorous accidents that usually accompany a relaxing holiday. I even found myself smiling at scenes where the group are just sitting around doing nothing but talking about the past. This characterisation is definitely what makes the film so special. Their fun-loving sides, coupled with their hidden truths, as well as the overhanging guilt of enjoying a holiday while their friend lies in hospital, make the characters as human as possible. Canet has created characters that are loving, adventurous and flawed down to their bones.

Strangely, the character that stands out the most is the character that is hardly in the film at all: Ludo. His character is mainly developed through exposition but it is done so fluidly that by the end of the film you feel as though you knew him all along. There is a scene where the group is watching old recorded footage of Ludo being his playful self and the group is just simply smiling. The look on their faces tells a thousand stories as we see just how much they really care for their friend, as reliving the old footage brings tears to their eyes. This is where the theme of love is truly revealed, as their love for their friends affects every decision they make in the film.

One of the qualms I have with the film is that, at 148 minutes, it is a bit too long. There are scenes that are not needed which try to push themes that have already been realised. This makes certain aspects of the film a little overbearing and I found myself drifting off into my own thoughts until something else happened that would draw my attention.

On a subjective note, I found some of the scenes to be quite confusing. Things happen that aren’t exactly explained right away and it was only until later that I realised what had happened. Perhaps this was because of the language barrier that accompanies a piece of world cinema, or maybe they were examples of scenes that weren’t needed for the plot to develop.

Overall Verdict: It is a film that excites a mixture of emotions. With brilliant acting that portrays perfect realism of the good and bad times a group of friends can share, Little White Lies is a world cinema release that is guaranteed to make you appreciate the finer things in life.

Special Features:
Holiday Reel

Reviewer: Dean Barratt