The Heartbreaker That Will Lift Your Heart

The problem with foreign films at the cinema is sometimes blink and you miss them. Many unfairly get a limited release so if you missed French film Heartbreaker at the cinema then you missed a true gem. But with some a break from work over Christmas, it is the perfect time to watch this clever romantic comedy that is so typically French.

Dark and brooding Romain Duris stars as Alex Lippi, a man who makes his money from seducing women so that they breakup with their boyfriends. He uses his rehearsed patter and boyish good looks to show them that they are with the wrong man and earns his paycheck from parents, siblings and love rivals when he succeeds at splitting them up. Working with his sister Mélanie and her husband Marc, his rule is that he only breaks up couples where the woman in unhappy.

But when he is asked to split up wine dealer Juliette Van Der Becq (Vanessa Paradis) from her successful, rich and perfect English fiance (Andrew Lincoln), he questions whether he should take the job. However seriously in debt to gangsters, he goes against his rule and takes the challenge.

He poses as Juliette’s bodyguard and with just 10 days to split up the couple before their nuptials, he sets about using everything in his repertoire from singing George Michael to recreating the dance sequence in Dirty Dancing to convince her to rethink her relationship.

However somewhere along the way Alex discovers a fatal flaw to his plan – he has fallen for the girl. An uplifting quirky romance that will put a smile on your face and have you keeping an eye out for the dark handsome stranger with something different to say.

Heartbreaker, £8.99 from Amazon.