But Canet is good, too, as the anxious, calculating young man who gets caught up, against all his instincts, in espionage.

NEWYORKER: Farewell

Underneath all the mysteries, however, there are some powerful forces at work, including the love of parents for children (one of whom is played by Canet himself).

NEWYORKER: Tell No One

B. officer who in 1981 convinces himself that he must betray his decaying country in order to save it, and Froment (Guillaume Canet), an ambitious young French engineer working in business in Moscow.

NEWYORKER: Farewell

Because her base is in France, and "will ever be, " Cotillard manages to balance Hollywood blockbusters with quieter French films, like the forthcoming Rust and Bone, directed by Jacques Audiard ("he sculpts life in the shape of movies") and Little White Lies, helmed by Canet.

WSJ: Marion Cotillard's Sultry Side