Delicacy (La Délicatesse) is a 2011 film from France directed by David and Stéphane Foenkinos, based on a novel by David Foenkinos.
Nathalie (Audrey Tautou) is a Parisian office worker. One day in a cafe she meets a man, François, who is just as attractive as she is. A whirlwind romance is followed by marriage and the two are deliriously happy. Until François is hit by a car and killed soon after, that is.
Nathalie deals with grief by pouring herself into her work, becoming Married to the Job. Three years pass. Nathalie politely but very definitively shoots down a romantic overture from her boss, Charles. So it's a surprise when, out of nowhere, she plants a kiss on Markus, one of her underlings at the office.
No one is more surprised that Markus, a burly, slightly overweight, mostly bald man who is nowhere near as good-looking as Nathalie is. Nathalie's friend Sophie can't conceal her surprise when she sees Nathalie's new beau, and Charles is extremely irked. Can Markus get past his knowledge that Nathalie is way out of his league? Can Nathalie open up to love again?
Not to be confused with Delicatessen.
Tropes:
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: The film ends with Nathalie, who is "it" in a game of hide-and-seek with Markus, finishing her countdown and then looking up and smiling at the camera.
- Call-Back: Nathalie tells Markus that when she went to America with her father when she was a child, he used to drink American light beers while she would eat Pez candy. Later he gets her a Pez dispenser as a present. Near the end, as an emotional Nathalie bails from the office and drives to her hometown in the country, she makes sure she has her Pez dispenser with her.
- Eagleland: A random joke. Nathalie, in panic mode after impulsively kissing Markus, says that she has to keep her work life and her personal life separate. Markus says "You sound like an American. That's bad."
- Fade to White: The Law of Conservation of Detail should have been enough to signify that nothing good was going to happen when François went out jogging, but the scene ends with a foreboding fade to white. Sure enough, the next scene shows Nathalie getting the call about her husband's accident.
- Feet-First Introduction: Combined with Leg Focus as the first scene shows Nathalie's smooth calves and high heels as she walks down a cobblestone street.
- Gossipy Hens: Chloe, who immediately spreads word all over the office after Nathalie blurts out that she kissed Markus.
- Grave-Marking Scene: Near the end Nathalie takes Markus to her hometown and shows him her husband's grave.
- Imagine Spot:
- After Nathalie kisses Markus out of the blue, a giddy Markus walks home while imagining all the attractive women he passes smiling at him, flirting with him, and giving out phone numbers.
- The film ends with Markus, in Nathalie's grandma's garden, imagine Nathalie there as a child, a teenager, and an adult.
- Match Cut: Markus sweeps his arm as a gesture for Nathalie to go ahead of him as they leave the roof...cut to Markus's arm opening the door of the Chinese restaurant where they're having dinner.
- Rooftop Confrontation: A low-key version. Nathalie, stressing out after Markus comes into her office the day after the kiss and kisses her back, dashes out. Markus guesses correctly that she went to the company's roof. He finds her there and, after some back-and-forth, she accepts his invitation to dinner.
- Snow Means Love: A dreamlike Imagine Spot scene shows Nathalie and François's wedding taking place outside in the snow.
- Split-Screen Phone Call: Used when Nathalie calls Markus and demands "What are you playing at?".
- Standard Office Setting: The characters are white-collar workers in a corporation that does...something. Nathalie and Markus are both involved in Project 114, whatever that is.
- Tempting Fate: Markus, searching the internet for ideas for a romantic evening with Nathalie, gets "theatre" as a result and mutters "Oh God, not a play." Seconds later Nathalie sends him an instant message inviting him to go out to see a play with her.
- Time Skip: The time frame is established by having a subordinate grouse that Nathalie has "done nothing but work these last three years."
- Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: Ugly guy and hot girlfriend. Markus and Nathalie are having drinks at a bar when a handsome guy comes up and offers Nathalie a drink; the man simply can't believe that the schlub sitting with Nathalie is her date. Markus himself is very aware of this, saying as he and Nathalie are out together that "It's as if Liechtenstein were walking with the USA." Moments after this he has a panic attack and literally runs away.Markus: I'm going to fall in love. It's ridiculous.
- Uriah Gambit: A modern, non-violent, business version. An angry Charles tells Nathalie that he's giving Markus a promotion and a fat pay raise...but the promotion will require Markus to move to Sweden.
