One of the new films in theaters now, “Chocolat,” from Miramax, has a bit of a different flavor than expected. The film stars Juliette Binoche as Vianne, a single mother and the proprietor of a new chocolate shop. The film centers around her problem of fitting into a small, ultra-conservative French village in the late 50s and early 60s. Her shop opens at the outset of Lent, the period of abstinence before Easter. Right away, she is disliked by the mayor of the town, Comte de Reynaud, played by Alfred Molina. The church is at the center of the townspeople’s lives, and Vianne doesn’t attend mass, immediately putting her at odds with their way of life. However, she wins the people over one by one, and eventually falls in love with a drifter river-rat named Roux (Johnny Depp). The main plot of the story revolves around Vianne’s attempt to gain acceptance of the villagers and ultimately the church. This leaves the movie conducive to heavy drama, preachy morality at every turn, unrequited love and loads of tears and tissues. The plot of the outsider attempting to overcome the prejudices of a small, conservative community is fairly uninventive, but the devices used to tell the story are what make the film worth watching. The action in the movie is kept fairly light, making it more a comedy in the traditional Shakespearean sense. It is a good story with a happy ending, instead of the typical gratuitous “ha-ha funny” movie with a weak plot. The acting is genuinely good with Binoche as Vianne giving an outstanding performance. Depp gains an Irish accent for his character and manages it rather well. The young, doe-eyed priest, Pere Henri (Victoire Thivisol) gives a wonderful contrast to the overbearing mayor. The main characters end up being people the audience can care about, an essential element for this type of story.The subplots are rather predictable: a battered wife leaves her abusive husband and finds solace with Vianne in the chocolate shop; a little boy and his ailing grandmother reunite in the chocolate shop after being kept apart by the mother; and a couple rediscover their sex life as a result of a special chocolate treat. Although the subplots are not that exciting, the manner in which they are told draws the audience into them with great characterization. The film is peppered with drama, but its light delivery helps keep the comedy afloat. The cinematography is almost unnoticeable, but there are a few striking images. The camera and edits are nearly invisible, keeping the light tone of the movie. The film also has small bits of narration, revealed in the end to be Vianne’s grown daughter. This seemed to be thrown in as an afterthought and was not integral to the plot. There was no reason to have the narrator be Vianne’s daughter, as there is no time frame given for the story. Bringing in this sort of revelation at the end was unnecessary. “Chocolat” contains no surprises, but none are really needed. The focus of the film is to tell us about these wonderful characters and to let us know we should be good to one another. (A moral that hits with the subtlety of a sledgehammer.) But again, it’s not what happens, but how it happens that makes this a movie worth checking out. Bring a date and have a good time.