French Film 2008

Two relationships in North London draw toward a close, anchored by Jed, a journalist living with his long-time partner Cheryl. Their circle includes Marcus and his girlfriend Sophie, and the dynamic between the tired couple contrasts with the ebullience of their friends. The pair’s connection feels strained and unfulfilling, which leads Jed to propose marriage in a bid to salvage what remains. Cheryl, however, turns him down, arguing that the spark has faded and romantic chemistry is no longer present.

In the midst of this, Jed is gearing up for an on-record interview with the pretentious French film writer/director Thierry Grimandi. Grimandi embodies a provocatively confident philosophy, jokingly framed as luck—“firstly because I am French, secondly because I make movies, and thirdly because I understand love”—and he is depicted as someone who dispenses hard-won “advice” about love. The scenes tease how his views will influence Jed’s own understanding of romance.

As the couple tries to navigate their rift, they seek guidance from a relationship counsellor. When asked if he loves Cheryl, Jed struggles to utter a straightforward “Yes,” instead blurting that he loves her TO BITS. Cheryl remains unimpressed by the hedged confession and begins to relish a newfound independence, while Jed leans on his friend Marcus for male camaraderie and on Grimandi’s controversial counsel for a different lens on love. The London geography itself becomes a character: bikes glide through streets that feel suggestively Parisian, lending the film a light, cosmopolitan mood that underscores questions of romance and possibility.

Meanwhile, Marcus reconnects with an old traveling-minded flame, rekindling a passion that leads him to abandon Sophie and chase a longer, more adventurous future. The tension between restraint and risk intensifies as the Eurostar to Paris carries Marcus and his new love away from London, leaving Sophie to confront the consequences of shifting affections. The journalist’s arc mirrors this drift, and his own emotions begin to crystallize just as he sits with Grimandi for that on-stage interview. He finally understands something essential about his own heart, and he rushes to find Sophie, who greets him with warmth, even as Cheryl steps into her own liberated life.

The ending leaves a delicate, open note: we glimpse a sense that life for all involved may continue with happiness in some form, but the story chooses not to spell out every detail. We are left to assume that all live happily ever after….