Love Me If You Dare (DVD)

This dark romantic comedy is the debut feature for director Yann Samuell. The film follows the intimate but twisted relationship between two would-be lovers, Julien (Guillaume Canet) and Sophie (Marion Cotillard), who first meet as eight-year-olds in inauspicious circumstances: Julien's mother is dying, while Sophie is suffering ferocious bullying at school. When Julien plays a practical joke on the children who are picking on Sophie, a close friendship evolves between the two, which is based on an ongoing game of dares and forfeits. As they grow older, the game increasingly becomes a power struggle as they use it to torment and embarrass each other - but could it really be an elaborate cover for the deep affection they hold for one another?