**FILM ONLY REVIEW**

I picked this film to watch, based on Andrew Lincoln, who I was a fan of from the Channel 4 TV show, 'Teachers' (although he's currently battling the undead in The Walking Dead). As such, although I'd read the synopsis about it being set in France, I expected it to be in English and a fairly standard rom-com. I got three surprises:

1) It was in French

2) Andrew Lincoln was hardly in it

3) It was very funny

The premise is that Alex (Romain Duris) is a professional heartbreaker, who along with his sensible sister and goofy brother-in-law manage to break up unhealthy relationships, usually hired by concerned friends or family. Desperate for money to repay loansharks, he takes on a job to break up the perfect couple in 10 days before their wedding. The problem is, Alex is starting to fall in love with her himself.

The characters are all loveable, and the film benefits from being French, as I think English/American actors would have over-exaggerated elements in their performances. In fact, Andrew Lincoln, the only English actor in the film, is the weakest in the bunch. He seems to be just drifting through the film, which makes me wonder why exactly the character needed to be English, other than to market the film better overseas and to lure in people like me.

Heartbreakers sets out to be an unconventional romantic comedy, full of mishaps and set-pieces but unlike similar films, there isn't a shock-value to the humour, which is refreshing and there were times where I laughed out loud (especially once the drunk slutty best friend turned up) because of a sudden increase of cruder humour, but overall I did like the mix of slapstick and humour from the faux sincerity that Alex puts on to impress women. Roman Duris comes across very charming to both the audience, and the girls who he woos.

I fully recommend this to anyone who likes an intelligent rom-com with a slight devilish hint to it. It is family-friendly, yet never feels tame. The climax to the movie feels more understated than other American rom-coms have been and there aren't any moments where it devolves into turgid sentimentality. I would happily watch a TV series based on the core premise to the movie as the plot and characters were very enjoyable. Just a note to Hollywood, no American remake please!

This Review originally appeared on my blog
(http://spiderjamb.blogspot.com)