It's remarkable to think how prominent chocolate can be in films. Not only has this confectionery featured in films like Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and Like Water for Chocolate, but it also in a film that simply bore its name - Chocolat.

This recent French film also has a taste for the sweet stuff, as its set within a chocolate factory, although one without its own chocolate river. It may be covered in chocolate but it has a gooey centre that's filled with amour.

For every life and soul of a party there's a socially inadequate wallflower to match. Angelique (Isabelle Carré) is one such wallflower. She has a heart full of love to give, but she lacks the social skills on how to give it exactly. And she's not alone; she's a member of a group called Romantics Anonymous, who meet up regularly to describe just how inept they all are with the opposite of sex.

Angelique may not be very good at mixing with people, but she's hot stuff with a mixing bowl. She is a truly impressive chocolatier, only no-one knows who she is. When the one person who does knows dies, Angelique is forced out into the big wide world on her own.

Feeling brave, she applies for a job at a chocolate factory, owned by Jean-René (Benoît Poelvoorde). Amazingly she gets a job, although not the one she was expecting. Somehow she gets hired as a sales person, which is surprising, as selling is hardly her forte.

As it turns out, Angelique and Jean-René are two very similar people. Some might say that they're made for one another, but considering how awkward they are in social situations, their relationship is far from being the perfect recipe for love.

That's right. For being such a smart arse, I baked your diabetes medicine inside one of these chocs. Bon appetit!

There's something terribly charming about this film. It's peculiar in that it feels as if it should have been set in the forties, despite having the odd techno reference like webcams; ultimately it's an old fashioned romance trapped in a modern world.

Its main ingredient that works well is the performances of its two leads. Carré and Poelvoorde capture their characters' social shortcomings perfectly. You wouldn't necessarily place the two as a couple, but they both help to create a reality where their coming together actually makes some sense.

What's missing however, is a strong story. The chocolate storyline is almost at odds with the relationship side of things. The food element doesn't play nearly as important part in proceedings as it should. In the end it simply melts into the background.

This means that the entire film rests on the shoulders of its two love-struck characters. In places, the pair seem to struggle with what they've got to work with; it doesn't help matters that they're both portrayed as hopeless cases and that neither will really stand a chance of a real relationship outside of what the pair have. So are they thrown together by love or simply by the rather sad fact that non-one else will have them?

It may miss the mark on the romance front, but it still manages to be somewhat of a sweet treat.