Heartbeats (2010)

The story of three close friends who are involved in a love-triangle.

Director:

Xavier Dolan

Writer:

Xavier Dolan (scenario & dialogue)

Stars:

Xavier Dolan, Monia Chokri, Niels Schneider

6 wins & 15 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Monia Chokri	...	Marie
Niels Schneider	...	Nicolas
Xavier Dolan	...	Francis
Anne Dorval	...	Désirée
Anne-Élisabeth Bossé	...	Jeune femme 1
Olivier Morin	...	Jeune homme 1
Magalie Lépine Blondeau	...	Jeune femme 2 (as Magalie Lépine-Blondeau)
Éric Bruneau	...	Jeune homme 2
Gabriel Lessard	...	Jeune homme 3
Bénédicte Décary	...	Jeune femme 3
François Bernier	...	Baise 1
Benoît McGinnis	...	Baise 2 (as Benoit McGinnis)
François-Xavier Dufour	...	Baise 3 (as François Xavier Dufour)
Anthony Huneault	...	Antonin
Patricia Tulasne	...	Coiffeuse

Storyline

In a story interspersed with interview tales of romantic pitfalls, friendship turns to romantic rivalry for gay man Francis and straight woman Marie when a veritable Adonis named Nicolas enters their lives. Sexual tensions mount as Francis and Marie await Nicolas' show of preference.

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Plot Keywords:

love triangle | cigarette smoking | unrequited love | gay interest | breast sucking | 

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Taglines:

Love me or leave me.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

The movie is inspired (to some extent) by Woody Allen 's Husbands and Wives (1992).

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Goofs

When Nicolas and Marie by accident run into Francis at the Vietnamese restaurant, Francis introduces Nicolas to his friend Antony. However, in the first scene of the movie you can see that Nicolas already has met Antony as they all sit at the same dinner table. There is nothing to say that either Francis didn't realize they knew each other, or that Nicolas and Antony were merely playing dumb and avoiding an awkward situation.

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Quotes

Marie: I love to smoke. Smoking a cigarette is like... forgetting. When I hit rock bottom, it's all I have. Light up, smoke up, shut the fuck up. It hides the shit. The smoke... hides... the shit. There's menthol and vanilla. Some people like 'em. Menthol cigarette. Vanilla cigarette. Chocolate cigarette. Cigarette cigarette. Cigarettes clearly keep me from going crazy. Keeps me alive. It keeps me alive until I die.

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Connections

Featured in Ebert Presents: At the Movies: Episode #1.6 (2011)

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Soundtracks

Every Breath You Take
Composed by Sting
Sung a cappella by Niels Schneider

User Reviews

A chic, indulgent, modern sex flick

I love the pace and styling of this modernisation (perhaps) of Jules et Jim. I love the hyper-sensed colouration and classy music-video slo- mo's, with the characters holding their lofty pretty heads even higher, set to a beautifully hip soundtrack.

Moni Chakri, the elegant brunette, who loves Audrey Hepburn is Dolan's character's best friend; hanging out and sharing moments, rather like Will and Grace. When cherubic, blonde curly haired Neils Schreider lands in their pretty laps, all sorts of questions about sexuality are thrown open and explored. It's all done with dignity and poise; no-one screams or hits anyone.

22 year old director Xavier Dolan, (who also stars) for this French- Canadian feature, has got his designer eyes set firmly on indulgence and unpretentious superficiality. Sexual rather than explicit, it is never rude and no one farts, pukes or is seen going to the toilet. These people are to be seen rather than to 'be'; their fairly shallow lives are ones filled with fairly petty annoyances, rather than life and death scenarios.

Sadly, the viewer doesn't really get to like them enough to care too much, though maybe surprisingly, they weren't as precocious or annoying as they could have been. I adopted an approach of just letting the rich visuals and sensual music flow gently over me, rather like chocolate sauce slowly rolling in folds down a steamed pudding.

Nothing knew is said either and perhaps this helps; anything jarring or monumentally profound would be just too much and spoil the pleasure. Not that it's quaint or twee, mind you but this is definitely bespoke designer fitted kitchen drama rather anything to do with an actual sink.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook [Canada]

Country:

Canada

Language:

French English

Release Date:

29 September 2010 (France)

Also Known As:

Heartbeats

Filming Locations:

Mile End, Montréal, Québec, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

CAD600,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$7,197, 27 February 2011

Gross USA:

$68,723

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$843,423

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mifilifilms, Quebec Film and Television Tax Credit, Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit (CPTC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1