LIE WITH ME is a deceptively sweet movie, a chocolate coated knotty nougat of nostalgia.

An adaptation of French author Philippe Besson’s worldwide bestselling queer coming of age novel of the same name, LIE WITH ME is a memory play shot through with that veiled veneer of remembrance of things past.

Starring Cesar Award winning actor Guillaume de Tonquédec as Stephane Belcourt, a writer who returns to the place of his birth and upbringing, a small town renowned for its Cognac.

It’s the first time back in town for the author after an absence of thirty five years. Afflicted by writer’s block, he has accepted an invitation to address a junket of American importers of the town’s famous elixir.

Being in place prompts Stephane to ponder on his sexual awakening here, the clandestine and thrilling affair he had with Thomas. But a meeting with one of the young attendants at the junket triggers an even deeper delve into the nostalgia zone.

The young man, Lucas, played by emerging star Victor Belmondo, the grandson of the legendary French New Wave legend Jean-Paul Belmondo, bears a strong resemblance to Thomas, and Stephane is obsessed with making a connection.

Lucas also has an obsession, a hidden agenda, and is not beneath lying, straight faced to Stephane.

LIE WITH ME is told in two timelines, the now and then, set against the beautiful backdrop of the French Cognac region.

Olivier Peyon’s adaptation of Besson’s autobiographical tale is a deeply touching and devastating exploration of regret and the power of luminous first love.

The title LIE WITH ME is a clever play on words. Thomas is happy to lie with Stephane, to lay him, but emphatically lies to all but his lover about his true sexual orientation.

It’s a deceit of lax courage and the ensuing and enduring cowardice is a cancer that riddles his core.