The Closet

By CHRISTOPHER TOOKEY, Daily Mail

Francis Veber is hardly a household name in Britain, but he is a master of comedy. His previous work includes La Cage Aux Folles and Le Diner De Cons.

Like most Veber movies, The Closet is essentially the story of a worm who turns - in this case, a boring accountant played by Daniel Auteuil, who's still in love with the wife who divorced him, estranged from the adolescent son who scorns him, and fired from his job of 20 years by a boss (Jean Rochefort) who barely knows he exists.

He gets his job back by following the suggestion of his elderly neighbour (Michel Aumont) that he pose as a gay man who has been victimised by homophobia.

Miraculously, women start to regard him as a challenge, and his burly, none-too-bright brute of a colleague (Gerard Depardieu) suddenly has to prove to his silkily malicious fellow manager (Thierry Lhermitte) that he's not a homophobe, and is thrown into psychological and sexual confusion.

Some of the plotting creaks and Veber's direction is more serviceable than inspired, but his screenplay zips along, cramming a remarkable amount into 85 minutes. Much of the humour is agile and ingenious. I smiled and laughed a lot.

Anyone familiar with French actors will also see that this is a dream cast. I would imagine that an American remake is even now in the pipeline, but it is unlikely to be as charming as this original.

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