Ìý User Rating 
Contains infrequent strong language
Orchestra Seats is a quintessentially French story, brimful of whimsy and polite angst. Sprightly young actress Cécile De France sets the tone as a waitress at a chichi bistro on the Avenue Montaigne who crosses paths will all manner of tortured arty types and inadvertently helps them to rediscover their passion for life. It's a rosy-hued portrait of Parisian bohemia (directed by Danièle Thompson) that'll go down a treat with some and have others spitting out their 'freedom fries'.
De France is eminently likeable as Jessica, engaging the VIPs with naiveté but never playing the bimbo. She's especially impressed by soap star Catherine Versen and rightly so, because Valérie Lemercier portrays the character with scene stealing gusto. Every actorly hang-up comes bubbling to the surface as she tries desperately to impress a Hollywood director (Sydney Pollack essentially playing himself). Their exchanges are priceless, especially in the first meeting when Versen hopes to flatter his ego by raving about Taxi Driver...
"GENTLE MELANCHOLY"
Albert Dupont broods more quietly but hits all the right notes as a concert pianist whose marriage threatens to be consumed by his success. It's just a shame that Thompson doesn't delve more deeply into the story of an aging art collector (Claude Brasseur). He decides to flog his collection because of the memories they hold, but this idea isn't fully fleshed out. Overall, Thompson favours gentle melancholy over piercing insights so there's never a sense of the artist's soul laid bare. Orchestra seats are supposed to bring us closer the action, but in the end, this film is definitely more middle row.
In French with English subtitles.
Orchestra Seats is released in UK cinemas on Friday 23rd February 2007.
