If you go to see "He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not," the new French film starring Audrey Tautou -- the actress that made "Amelie" so irresistible -- expecting a reprise of Tautou's last film, you'll be in for a surprise.

The film -- directed by Laetitia Colombani and co-written by Colombani and Caroline Thivel -- feels like a light-hearted love story at first as Angelique (Tautou), a waitress and talented artist, is deeply in love with a handsome young cardiologist, Loic (Samuel Le Bihan).

It's spring, love is in the air and as summer approaches, Angelique learns she's won a coveted art scholarship and will have to spend her summer creating works for an exhibition. Meanwhile, she's house-sitting for a woman who will spend a year in Washington and has a luxury spread.

But she's preoccupied with Loic, who, it turns out, is married to a woman who is expecting the couple's first child. When she begins to fear that Loic is having second thoughts about leaving his wife for her, Angelique is distraught. Her friend David, a medical student with a massive crush on her, gets involved.

But, remember, there are two sides to every story and about halfway through the film, the tape rewinds to the top and we get to see the story through Loic's eyes. Is he really the snake that we think he is? Is he really a successful cardiologist with a complete lack of understanding of the human heart?

What begins as the kind of romantic comedy in which you expect to see Hugh Grant or Julia Roberts, takes a sudden twist -- although attentive viewers will begin suspect some of what comes later.

Bright, alluringly colored (like "Amelie") but with a sinister undertone that Tautou's previous film lacked, "He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not," is an entertaining and touching film.

And just when you think you can't picture the wide-eyed, funny-faced Tautou as anyone but the shy and retreating Amelie, she draws you right in and you forget all about her previous alter ego.

"He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not" opens Fri., March 28 at Landmark's Oriental Theatre.