Laurent Tirard directs Jean Dujardin, Mélanie Laurent and Noémie Merlant in this period romantic comedy where an uptight lady begins forging love letters from the cad soldier who abandoned her distraught sister, only for the scoundrel to turn up to take advantage of the ruse years later.

Very funny and immaculately made. The witty Dujardin and resplendent Laurent have great chemistry. If this came out in the 1990s you could easily see Kevin Kline and Meg Ryan leaping into their respective parts yet I doubt even they could pull off such a luxurious comedy coup. The whole cast gamely lean into the broader farce but the story actually works best as a charming ‘will they, won’t they’ between the two loveable humbugs.

8