This is it--the perfect romantic comedy for the modern age. It is on the one hand fresh and unique in it's approach, and on the other, entirely faithful to the genre. You leave this movie feeling very good.
That premise it this--Romain Duris plays Alex, a handsome swaggering man who breaks up couples for a living. Working with his sister Melanie (Julie Ferrier) and her husband, Marc (Francois Damiens), he is hired by disgruntled relatives to seduce women out of relationships the relatives do not approve of without the women being any the wiser that they are being manipulated.
Alex does have his scruples. Not only won't he destroy couples for religious or racial reasons, he also believes in true love. His credo is "We only break up couples, we never break hearts." In addition, there is absolutely no sex involved. Ever. That is a rule--Alex knows that sex changes everything.
"Heartbreaker" opens with a pastiche of Alex and his system being operationalized. We see him work his magic in all kinds of situations. Duris (who I have loved since 'L'Auberge Espagnole', to 'Dans Paris', then 'Paris') adds his own particular intensity to this light comic role to excellent effect.
Then we cut to the chase--the real romance that is about to be. He takes on a case that does not fit his rules. Ordinarily Alex would never attempt to break up Juliette (Paradis) and her fiancé Jonathan (Andrew Lincoln). She is a wine expert, he a philanthropist, and they are so in love that the word on the street is "god couldn't have created a more perfect couple." But Alex is also in desperate need of funds, so he takes the assignment from Juliette's wealthy and controlling father.
So the trio goes to work on what they all agree from the onset is an impossible task, with hilarious consequences that are so clever, you laugh on two levels. This movie is slick and well done, and very satisfying.
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