THE HOUSEKEEPER — ** 1/2 — Jean-Pierre Bacri, Emilie Dequenne, Brigitte Catillon, Jacques Frantz, Axelle Abbadie, Catherine Breillat; in French, with English subtitles; rated R (sex, nudity, profanity, vulgarity); see "Playing at local movie theaters" for theater listings.

At times, "The Housekeeper" seems like a fantasy for single middle-aged men instead of a wider audience demographic.

There are also story elements that would lend themselves to a Hollywood remake, though, obviously, studio suits would probably make a light romantic comedy out of this largely dramatic effort.

Those complaints aside, this French melodrama is pretty watchable. And not to give too much of the plot away, it doesn't exactly end as most of us would expect it to.

The title character is Laura (Emilie Dequenne), a twentysomething housemaid who's trying to make some cash by tidying up other people's apartments. Her first client is Jacques Gautier (Jean-Pierre Bacri), a lonely, fiftysomething jazz-record producer who just doesn't have time to do his own cleaning.

At first, Jacques is amused at Laura's eccentricities — she sweeps instead of vacuuming, wears house slippers and she listens to hip-hop music while she works.

But then he's taken aback when the much-younger Laura asks if she can stay at his place — after her boyfriend pretty much kicks her out. Jacques reluctantly agrees and then is surprised when their employer-employee relationship becomes much more intimate.

Director/screenwriter Claude Berri wisely keeps the tone light. And despite a few lapses, he shows admirable restraint in dealing with some of the seamier — and steamier — material. Although there are at least a couple of moments that will make some audience members say "ick!"

Despite that, both Bacri and Dequenne are surprisingly effective in their performances and manage to sell us on their chemistry. (That said, while it is obvious why Jacques would be drawn to Laura — especially the way she's played by up-and-comer Dequenne — her attraction to him is a bit suspect.)

"The Housekeeper" is rated R for scenes of simulated sex, female nudity, occasional use of strong sexual profanity and some crude sexual talk. Running time: 86 minutes.

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