The best thing about Moliere (and Becoming Jane, too), is that it makes you appreciate just how witty and transporting Shakespeare in Love really was.

Director and co-writer Laurent Tirard uses a hazy patch in the biography of high-farce master Moliere to invent a tale of comic-dramatic heartbreak that glides by on silky production values and an attractive supporting cast. It's like a breeze so slight it doesn't leave a tickle.

Moliere (Sony Pictures Classics) Starring Romain Duris, Fabrice Luchini, Laura Morante, Edouard Baer, Ludivine Sagnier, Fanny Valette. Directed by Laurent Tirard. Rated PG-13. Time 120 minutes.