The Secret Laughter of Women

Single mother and landscape gardener Nimi (Long) likes life among the close knit Nigerian community of a coastal town in southern France, but finds herself subjected to a tussle between the traditionally minded womenfolk and her fanciful 7-year-old Sammy (Roberts). While the former eye up the eligible new preacher (Bakare) as a potential husband, Sammy hatches similar ambitions for his new friend Matthew (Firth), a successful English fantasy comicbook author who summers from his 'open' modern marriage in a nearby villa. Though not short on good intentions, as a would-be romantic comedy the film's unguarded naivety doesn't pay off, and attempts to keep the drama light, sunny and sensitive often lapse into rose tinted whimsy or quixotism. It's more romantic than comic, and more rambling than romantic; and while on the whole the acting is a plus, there are times when the performers sound like they're reading from the page.