Robustly acted and nicely written, this story of mildly dysfunctional French family the Duvals is hardly groundbreaking, but it is certainly sweet and engaging, and the construction is sound.
Five days in the lives of the Duvals are examined, each from a different family member’s perspective. The days span more than a decade, from 1988 to 2000, giving the make-up and wardrobe teams the chance to go crazy – and they do. The device also gives the five main actors the chance to strut their stuff at wildly different stages in their lives, and director Remi Bezancon gets to play with diverse points of view so that we love and hate the characters by turns.
They’re all a bit too nice to provide particularly intense drama, but the Duvals’ story makes for a charming (if unchallenging ) couple of hours’ entertainment.