Review by Stuart Barr
Stars Monia Chokri, Neils Schneider, Xavier Dolan, Anne Dorval, Anne-Élisabeth Bossé, Olivier Morin, Françoise Bernier,
Sophie Desmarais, Jody Hargreaves
Written by Xavier Dolan
Certification UK 15 | Canada 14A
Runtime 101 minutes
Directed by Xavier Dolan
Watching the French Canadian film Heartbeats I was struck by just how narrow the representation of human romantic and sexual relations seems to have become on the mainstream. The strictly codified and rigidly defined conventions of the modern romantic comedy have run riot in the 21st Century popular cinema of the west. They meet, they fall in love, they hit an obstacle, and they come back together again! There’s usually a secondary romance that mirrors the central one. LGBT lifestyles are marginalized. People lean on things in the posters. A third act dash to an important destination. Happy endings.
Heartbeats is refreshingly free of such conventions, and feels (dare I say it) more European in its approach to telling a deceptively simple love triangle story. Marie (Chokri) and Francis (Dolan) are platonic friends. She is emotionally closed, straight, uptight and superior, he is emotionally open, gay, romantic and vulnerable. The pair meets Nicholas (Schneider) a newcomer on the Montreal social scene and both fall in lust with him. Nicholas is one of those guys who is, to misquote Frank Skinner, fit but knows it. He is smart (at least he quotes a lot of pretentious poetry), witty, and fun to be with.
Nicholas’ sexuality is indeterminate, and both Marie and Francis pursue him romantically. Neither is above exploiting their own friendship to score points against one another. Nicholas for his part appears initially oblivious to the depth of their feelings, but there are hints that he may be engaging in playing psychological mind games for his own amusement.
The narrative is simple but it is just a framework for Dolan as writer and director to craft a film that explores obsession, relations and desires. Dolan uses slow motion as a tool to capture the micro-expressions and tiny gestures that give away the true feelings of the characters rather than because it looks cool (although it does look pretty cool). In his ruthless skewering of social awkwardness Dolan sometimes feels like a less misanthropic Todd Solondz, the polysexual atmosphere and the youth of the characters will draw comparison to Bertolucci’s The Dreamers.
In the lead roles all three actors are exceptional; Maria could easily come across as a selfish bitch of a character, but Monia Chokri brings humour and intelligence to the part. Neils Schnieder’s Nicholas is one of those too-gorgeous young people who flit around the social scene making everyone believe in the moment that you are connected to them, but always flitting to the next assignment like an exotic butterfly. Schneider keeps Nicholas just the right side of charming, and helpfully looks like an even more handsome Robert Pattison. Director and writer Dolan is superb as Francis, often the film’s emotional heart. He also has the best haircut you will see in any film this year.
This is a languid and beautiful film, often visually very striking, with a great soundtrack choices that mix classical, kitsch (Dalida’s cover of Bang Bang features large), and cooler than thou electronica (The Knife).
Heartbeats adroitly expresses the complexities of human relations (sexual, romantic and platonic), and speaks to both the mind and the heart. Only the second film from the ridiculously young Dolan (he’s 22) this is the work of someone who has the potential to become a major talent.