A first date can certainly bring butterflies and clammy hands to even the most confident of people, but if you suffer from severe shyness this can be a truly terrifying situation. So when chocolate factory owner Jean-René (Benoît Poelvoorde) is asked by his therapist to confront his fear by inviting a woman out to dinner, he inadvertently finds himself dining with his newly hired sales-representative, the equally shy Angélique (Isabelle Carré).

While unaware that Angélique is in fact a gifted chocolatier, he does recognise her passion for chocolate and hopes that she will be able to reverse the fortunes of his nearly bankrupt factory. Thus, they embark on a journey together, professional, but first and foremost personal that requires a suitcase full of clean shirts on constant standby to deal with his nervous disposition, amusing mishaps and quirky dialogue to match this.

Poelvoorde is very convincing as the reluctant boss who prefers to hide in his office because he hates any kind of social intimacy, and whose fear of the unknown extends to his inability to answer a ringing telephone. His socially awkward demeanour is perfectly complemented by Carré’s tentative, sweet nature resulting in believable chemistry. Director Jean-Pierre Améris whips up a genuinely sweet tale of two socially inept people that share a common passion and fall in love, but have to overcome their fears to find their happy ending. Ultimately, this romance is like consuming your favourite chocolate: you choose it because you know the outcome will be sweet and satisfactory.

Maria Sell