Twice Upon a Time (M)

Louis Ruinard (Jean Rochefort) and Alice d'Abanville (Charlotte Rampling) were quite the celebrity couple in the 1970s.

The French director and his English muse made five films and "beautiful music" together. But it didn't last and they parted abruptly. She quit the screen for Shakespeare on the stage, while he traded artistic endeavour for kitchen-sink comedies that draw an audience.

Thirty years on, their paths cross once more when Alice is invited to present Louis with a lifetime achievement award.

Describing him as "emotional anthrax", Alice's reception of Louis is less than cordial.

But to her horror, when Louis takes a turn, Alice's benevolent husband, Evelyn (Ian Richardson), offers to take him in. Now the man she swore she would never see again is "in my home, six feet away, and I think I can hear him snoring".

A rare mature romantic comedy, Twice overcomes its creaky, deja vu plot thanks to the sparks created by its two leads.

Rochefort's fox-like features give him a character all of his own, while Rampling rivals Jodie Foster for her ability to mix sexiness with steel.

There is plenty of verbal sparring on offer in writer-director de Caunes' script and Rampling excels at delivering acerbic wit, in both French and English, with a sultry smile.

The leading pair have their work cut out to be the stars of the show as a quote-spouting Richardson, an oddball butler, and a flatulent, snoring dog threaten to steal scenes at every turn.

There is more than a touch of farce and a dash of nudity, and de Caunes lands some hits against English pretentiousness. There are also a couple of filmic in-jokes; for example: insurers demand Ruinard's director takes a medical just as the actor had to do on Terry Gilliam's ultimately scuppered The Man Who Killed Don Quixote.

An eclectic and engaging jazz-infused soundtrack by Elvis Costello and The Performers' Steve Nieve adds to the fun.

• In English

and French with English subtitles.