Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
Francis is a young gay man, Marie is a young straight woman and the two of them are best friends -- until the day the gorgeous Nicolas walks into a Montreal coffee shop. The two friends, instantly and equally infatuated, compete for Nicolas' indeterminate affections, a conflict that climaxes when the trio visit the vacation home of Nicolas' mother. The frothy comedy unfolds through narrative, fantasy sequences and confessional monologues.
Xavier Dolan's sophomore feature is visually striking and singularly stylized — slow-motion sequences, lush color palette, and a Nouvelle Vague-inflected sensibility make it cinematographically distinctive. The premise of a gay man and straight woman competing for an ambiguous object of desire is handled with wit and emotional honesty, and Dolan's auteur voice is unmistakable. However, the plot is relatively thin and the ending deflates rather than resolves, feeling more like an ellipsis than a conclusion. Acting is competent and naturalistic but not transformative. The film's greatest strength is its singular visual and tonal conception.