by Luanne Paul King

Fanny Ardant in Roman De Gare.

Mademoiselle. Not rated. 85 mins. Directed by Philippe Lioret. Newly released by Synkronized USA, DVD. French with English subtitles.

This film is a subtle and mature story of two people who are attracted to each other despite very different backgrounds. Claire (Sandrine Bonnaire) is a successful career woman, married for eight years and mother of two children. While she is away from home in another city for a conference, she meets Pierre (Jacques Gamblin). Pierre is an “improviser” living hand to mouth by entertaining at company conventions with two colleagues; their group is called The Unpredictables. They have been hired to pose as waiters and create humor out of improbable dining suggestions. Claire enjoys their performance and is attracted to Pierre even though he seems sullen at first.

The morning after the conference, Claire misses her train and bumps into The Unpredictables. Pierre offers her a ride to the train station in the next town. The next engagement of the group is a wedding reception. On a whim, Claire decides to stay with them for a while. When Pierre encourages her to participate as an improviser, she makes up a beguiling story that enchants the wedding party. Later, when it’s time to reserve a train to go home, Claire decides to return the next morning rather than that night. Claire is a fascinating woman gracefully taking charge of her life — at least for 24 hours. What comes next?

Roman De Gare. Rated R. 107 minutes. Directed by Claude Lelouch. French with English subtitles.

This is a film for those who like to sit on the edge of their seats or even roll under them as suspenseful events unravel. There are more mistaken identities and secrets in this story than you can count. However, Claude Lelouch manages to adroitly highlight changes in the lives of the three main characters when they begin seeing each other as they really are. Did crime novelist Judith Ralitzer (Fanny Ardant) really write her best selling books? If she didn’t, who did?

Did the high-strung hairdresser Huguette (Audrey Dana) really think she could fool her mother by pretending that a man she barely knew was her fiancé? Was Pierre (Dominque Pinon) actually the ghostwriter of Judith Ralitzer’s novels? Or could he be “The Magician,” an escaped serial killer lurking on the roads leading out of Paris? If he is a ghostwriter, will he never write any work of his own?

Never fear. You are in good hands with Claude Lelouch. He assembled a superb cast and chose pristine French locations. In addition to the film’s chic thriller pleasures, there are surprising bonds of love many of the characters feel for each other — once each stops pretending to be someone else.