The gist: Roughly translated as "Children's Games", Love Me If You Dare depicts the bizarre relationship between Sophie Kowalsky (Marion Cotillard) and Julien Janvier (Guillame Canet). Set in France, Julien first crossed paths with the free-spirited Sophie when he rescued her from the children who bullied her for being of Polish descent. Little Julien temporarily handed the small tin carousel-shaped box, a memento which his dying mother earlier passed on to him, to Sophie, hoping that she would feel better and that eventually, when she does feel better, she will return it to him. However, being the mischievous child Sophie is, she demands that Julien must do something to earn the tin box back. Thus, their dangerous child's play begins.

Their game, where the one who currently holds the tin box dares the one who doesn't, seemed to be an innocently mischievous one at first---that was until it caught up to them years later. As teenagers, Julien and Sophie continued their silly children's game, earning the chagrin of Julien's father, who was already widowed by Julien's mother since the year Julien met Sophie. Ultimately, Julien was forced to choose between Sophie's world of fun and adventure and the growing expectations and pressures a young adult must face, as reiterated by his father. In a span of several years, both of them refused to acknowledge their growing affection for one another, inconsistently separating ways, meeting again and then ultimately daring each other not to cross paths in more or less ten years. In a situation where they keep on coming back to each other despite the successes they're currently earning for themselves, will they find it in their hearts to admit that they a pure love has blossomed from their so-called children's games?

My review:

Hues subsided upon the coming of age of Julien and Sophie. The backdrops for most of the teenager scenes were dull. I guess the reason why the colors and aura of the setting during these scenes were toned down was because the chemistry between the older Julien and Sophie should stand out. Fortunately, both of the lead actors were doing well with their acting stints and their chemistry was overflowing; they looked like a charming pair of lovebirds, only they weren't lovers just yet.