A highly stylized French confection in the mould of Amélie, this feature debut by former animator Yann Samuell is a giddy, inventive and appropriately maddening ode to l'amour fou. The lovers' connection is forged when they are eight-year-olds living in a candy-coloured French town. Julien (Thibault Verhaeghe) is a lonely boy who despairs over his terminally ill mother. Meanwhile, the Polish-born Sophie (Josephine Lebas-Joly) is made miserable by the racist taunts of classmates. They find solace in a curious game in which they challenge each other to commit audacious acts.

Julien and Sophie's parents and teachers attempt to stop these hijinks, but the game quickly becomes everything to them. By the time they are young adults (with Guillaume Canet and Marion Cotillard taking over the roles), the nature of the dares has changed from relatively innocent -- playing doctor, slapping gym teachers -- to potentially life-threatening. Despite the obvious emotional toll, Julien and Sophie find themselves unable to stop, mostly because that would mean accepting a more mundane sort of love than the impulsive, often destructive one they enjoy.

To further illustrate the notion that each set of lovers creates its own strange world, Samuell stuffs Love Me If You Dare with animated fantasy sequences, cartoonish effects, nutty camera moves and countless incarnations of the song "La Vie en Rose." Though all this madness is fun for a while, the inclusion of a few subtler moments might have provided viewers with a richer understanding of Julien and Sophie's compulsions. The film's dazzling visuals and chaotic exuberance are initially exhilarating, but Love Me If You Dare is so overloaded with kitsch and colour, the sugar high eventually gives way to an ice-cream headache. Even if it lacks the poignance of another recent tale of true love run amok, Michel Gondry'sEternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Samuell's film still qualifies as a superior date movie.

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