The protagonist is confused about love. His kooky but good-hearted friends dish out uncertain advice to him, usually mirroring their own love-related issues. They smoke, have sex and enjoy the simple things in life. If this formula sounds familiar then you can likely guess what I’m getting at… these are the elements of a quintessential French film, centering on romance and kinship. My Friends, My Loves (Mes amis, mes amours) goes about the task in a comedic way and initially suggests that love is all you need – from your best friend.

Director Lorraine Levy also co-wrote the screenplay, an adaptation from brother Marc’s best-selling novel which gives the film a foreign setting. Protagonist Mathias (Vincent Lindon) moves to London when he’s offered ownership of a bookstore in the French district – but you wouldn’t guess it though. Even with a mostly-English soundtrack and plenty of landmarks that serve as establishing shots, it retains a distinctly French feel. The district’s community is continually reinforced through Mathias’ circle within the main street; a florist with a secret crush, a hard-working café owner, a half-Scottish, half-French builder, and best friend/architect Antoine (Pascal Elbe), but the core of the film is split between Mathias’ relationship with Audrey (Virginie Ledoyen)and his unique arrangement with Antoine.

My Friends, My Loves tries for the comedic angle, and for the most part succeeds. The idea of two best friends sharing a communal apartment with their children initially brings an idea of the perfect (but platonic) family relationship to the table, with the film laughing even to itself as a schoolgirl comments that it’s just a bit weird. We see the bickering of an old married couple from early on, Antoine taking such a maternal role that Mathias is forced to act the child. Lindon and Elbe (of A Pain in the Ass and A Simple Heart) play off each other fairly well, both understanding the oddity of their situation but trying to make it work. At times it gets slightly ridiculous (and awkward), but the eccentricities of the French as seen through their rom-com films shouldn’t surprise those familiar with the genre. However, the difference in personalities isn’t the only cause of their arguments. Like any story (and a French one at that), there are obstacles which come in the form of love.

Levy uses the classic boy-meets-girl/crazy in love/threatening obstacle thread to portray Mathias and Audrey’s relationship. It is cute when all is well, Mathias’ case of vertigo used as a funny but poignant motif that represents how she’s helping him to find love he had lost. When it’s not, the household is only one of their obstacles; but like most right-minded people Audrey finds herself uncertain about how to handle it. This is the sole purpose of most of the film being handled as one big flashback, but a chronological plot would’ve served just as well. Ledoyen (of The Beach and Shall We Kiss) is beautiful on-screen with a down-to-earth elegance, and brings questions to the table about why so many young, attractive women seem to go for the haggered-looking older man (not just in French cinema but in general). The supports are dominated by Bernadette Lafont as Yvonne both in character and performance as a matriarchal presence, with the running time suiting the simple direction as the story does the talking. However, while the plot is interesting enough to keep the film going, the central story at times becomes clichéd and slightly flat as a result.

Verdict:
My Friends, My Loves does what it sets out to in presenting a love story with a comedic twist. Not groundbreaking for the genre, but nonetheless still a bit of fun.

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