The setting is a picturesque chateau in Burgundy in the early 19th century. When a handsome army captain (Jean Dujardin) jilts her sister, Elizabeth (Mélanie Laurent) softens the blow by penning extravagantly thrilling letters in his name – and then killing him off in the final missive. Aggravatingly for Elizabeth, Captain Neuville is far from dead, and on his return slips into the heroic role that she created.
This romantic comedy is a frothy confection that sits somewhere between Jane Austen and a French bedroom farce. The main pleasure here is the sparky chemistry between Laurent’s screwball-style smart cookie heroine and Dujardin’s lovable rogue.
