Childhood mischief escalates, and then some, in this bustling dark comedy with elements of a modern-day fairy tale. As precocious eight-year-olds, Sophie (Lebas-Joly) realises Julien (Verhaeghe) is her kind of guy when she dares him to release the handbrake on the school bus, and he does it. The pranks continue, ranging in difficulty and getting riskier with age. Years later, we find Sophie taking an important oral examination with her bra and pants over her clothes, and as Canet and Cotillard assume the roles of the grown-up characters, puerile naughtiness gives way to sexual humiliation and shocking violence. Will the dare to spend a decade out of contact with each other dampen their perverse ardour? 
(Trevor Johnston) 

Dir: Yann Samuell. 2003. France. 93 mins. NC16. Guillaume Canet, Marion Cotillard, Thibault Verhaeghe, Joséphine Lebas-Joly. In French with English subtitles.