On the surface, Ensemble C’est Tout is a fairly standard romantic dramedy crossed with a Three’s Company-type set-up. But due in no small part to the number of able film folks behind as well as in front of the camera and its extra delightful dollops of friendship and family, this French film ends up feeling quite a bit more weighty than the insubstantial soufflé trading on the charms of its female lead, Audrey Tautou (Amelie) it had initially threatened to be.
Director-producer-scriptwriter Claude Berri’s (Jean de Florette) movie is adapted from best-selling novelist Anna Gavalda’s thick third tome which focuses on four people living together in a large apartment. The film, however, gives half the quartet quite a bit more screen time than the other two.
One of the former, Camille, is an artistically inclined young woman who nonetheless has chosen to be a cleaning lady. Originally, this character was not supposed to be essayed by Tautou and one has to wonder how much the part was enlarged to suit its replacement (and how much other roles were curtailed as a consequence).
In his shorter-than-I-liked time on screen, comedian Laurent Stocker (winner of a Most Promising Actor César award for this role) proves very watchable as Philibert Marquet de la Tubulière, an eccentric, bow-tied aristocrat who befriends Camille and takes her in as his spacious apartment’s second unlikely house-guest after Franck (Guillaume Canet), a cook who works long hours daily except Mondays, when he goes and visits his elderly grandmother, Paulette (Françoise Bertin). Although an emotional bond exists between Camille and Philibert, and Franck initially comes across as gruff, bad-tempered and not particularly likeable, his broody good looks give off sure signals that Franck would be the movie’s main man. (Canet additionally is capable of immensely heart-melting, toe-curling, crinkly-eyed smiles!)
As far as plot direction is concerned, little is unpredictable in or about Ensemble C’est Tout. For instance, it is really only a matter of time before Paulette is invited to move in with the three younger individuals and Franck is spared the long weekly journeys to visit her in a costly nursing home where she is unhappy.
No matter, because Ensemble C’est Tout’s primary allure lies in its details and the appealing performances by its cast. Its script (and associated English subtitles) is replete with fun and clever lines that regularly get one chuckling, if not laughing out loud. (When asked for her occupation by an examining medico, Camille imaginatively answers that she’s a “surface engineer”.) Also, cinematographer Agnès Godard’s (Beau Travail) visuals significantly add to the atmospheric richness that allows film fans to come out of the viewing experience feeling very well sated.

Yvonne Teh