Chocolat

Rich and Creamy

The most delicious thing about Chocolat is the characters. It is set in a small French village that evokes shades of Waking Ned Devine, even though that was in Ireland. There's even the recently-arrived priest trying to fill the large shoes of his predecessor. Some of the characters have charming little quirks, and others have less-than- charming ones. All are capably played, and they have their moments to let their characters shine. Any time spent watching performances like this is time well spent, even if the story didn't excite me very much. My only regret is that I didn't catch names for all of the characters to match them up with actors afterwards.

Cast Confections

I can't single out any one best performance, but I was impressed with Carrie-Ann Moss, who has been known mostly for her role in The Matrix. She shows dramatic ability in Chocolat, even if her character is annoyingly written. I won't be breaking any new ground by praising Judi Dench, whose fiesty performance steals every scene. The accent used by Johnny Depp was iffy enough that I've heard people guess several contries of origin for his character. This isn't his best work, but it's quite acceptable. Victoire Thivisol shows a maturity well beyond her years and experience. This is only her second movie, but she's already fantastic. Alfred Molina has a good time essaying a fussy man preoccupied by keeping his townfolk in line. He creates the perfect character for that moustache. Although he has a small and unexceptional part in Chocolat, I must mention John Wood, Professor Falken from WarGames.