faithful adaptation of witty and interesting french novel about a cynical and depressed middle age software engineer ( or something ) and rely heavily on first person narration but none the bad for that . downbeat ( in a petit bourgeois sort of way ) and philosophical and blackly humorous and the best way i could describe both the film and the novel be that it be something like a more intellectual charles bukowski ( no disrespect to cb intend ) . mordantly funny and but also a bleak analysis of social and sexual relation and the film great achievement be that it reflect real life in such a recognisable way a to make you ask represent why aren not other film like this . one of the rare example of a good book make an equally good film .