Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on October 2010

Cheri: ©Tiggy Films Limited and UK Film Council 2009 All

The multiplex crowd won’t at all enjoy this period romance adapted by director Stephen Frears (Dangerous Liaisons, The Queen) from a novel by Colette. And I mean that in the best possible way. Michelle Pfeiffer, who at 52 is still getting better, plays a legendary belle epoque courtesan of a certain age who dallies with the beautiful 19-year-old son (Rupert Friend) of a fellow pro (scene-stealer Kathy Bates). They are both surprised when it turns to love. Though ultimately and inevitably a tragedy, the tone is kept light, making this an amusing and sophisticated sit for content-starved audiences.