The Hedgehog

Lacking any depth of its own, this upper-middlebrow French drama resorts to the old trick of referencing acknowledged masters.

Le Guillermic is fine in this calm comedy of subverted exteriors and expectations, but it's the remarkably unpretentious -- earthy, even -- Balasko who anchors Achache's adaptation.

"The Hedgehog" sneaks up on you with its heartfelt storytelling and sophisticated wit.

A satisfying emotional experience.

A reminder that, sometimes, the movies can get a beloved book exactly right.

Walks a fine line between sentimentality and cynicism, and emerges as a lovely and modern fable.

[Garance] Le Guillermic is irresistible, making a character that could come off as a haughty brat utterly delightful.

Nicely crafted, The Hedgehog seldom aims to be more than a pleasant low-key diversion-at which it succeeds-so it's jolting when the story pulls an abrupt late turn that casts everything in a more serious, ambitious light.

11-year-old Paloma (Garance Le Guillermic) is rich, precocious and extremely judgmental in the way that only a privileged child can be.