BILLYBOY-10
Somewhere, out there, there must be a list of the all time worst gay films every made. One's that have overlong camera shots of the stars sitting and staring pensively into space, or one's where they focus unbearably long on kitty kats eating spaghetti. This motion sickness picture is a story of a boy and a boy and they live and love and swim and get stuck in grottos and one of them has a depressed mother and another has no mother and they talk and walk and swim and have sex and get drunk and then break up and someone goes to the hospital for eight days and then gets out and there is a lot of fast forward and rewind and there are long pensive shots of one of them looking into space or just sitting and doing nothing. I think it's some sort of gimmicky film making technique or maybe it's that the film is so bad they have to fill it up with long, wasted shots because otherwise if they had to rely on plot or story the film would be about 14 minutes. Don't get me wrong, this is about the 30th gay film I"ve watched in the past 6 months and some of them (most of them) have been very formulmatic, predictable and boring but this is one is really a terrible waste of time. The best one so far was "Beautiful Thing". So, I watched this and after the very first opening shot which lingered and lingered I thought "Oh, no, its going to be creative sinny mah" But I gave it a chance and watched it and then when it ended I tossed the DVD in the trash. Sorry I didn't like it and if you did, sorry if I offend.
jotix100
"Come Undone" appears to elicit a lot of opinions among the contributors to this forum. Granted, it's a film that promises a take on gay life, as most viewers expect and somehow, it gets away from that promise into an introspective view at a young man's soul. The film has a way of staying with us even when it has ended. It is a character study about how a young man gets involved into a love affair with someone so much different than him that, in the end, will leave Mathieu confused, hurt and depressed when things don't go according to what he hoped the relationship would be.If you haven't seen the film, perhaps you would like to stop reading.Sebastien Lifshitz, the director of the film, has told his story from Mathieu's viewpoint. Most viewers appear to be disoriented by the different times within the film, but there are hints that are not obvious, as one can see, in retrospect. The story is told in flashbacks that might add to the way some people will view the film. This is a story about the doomed the love Mathieu felt for Cedric and the ultimate breakdown of their life together.First of all, Cedric, the handsome young local, pursues Mathieu until he succeeds in convincing him he likes him. Mathieu feels the attraction for Cedric too. We realize how different both young men are by the way Cedric tells Mathieu's family how he feels school is not for him. On the other hand, Mathieu, who wants to be an architect, finds beauty in the abandoned place where Cedric has taken him. We watch as Mathieu, reading from the guide book, wants Cedric's attention.When Mathieu comes out to his mother, she wisely tells him about the importance of continuing his career. She also points out about what future both of them would have together, which proves to be true. Mathieu appears to have learned his lesson, the hard way. He goes on to an uncertain life with Cedric and attempts to take his own life. We watch him in the hospital speaking to a psychiatrist that has treated his wounded soul.The ending might be confusing for most viewers, but there is a moment in the film when Mathieu goes to work in a bar where we see him washing glasses and looking intently to Pierre, the young man who frequents the bar. That is why when Mathieu goes looking for Pierre at his house, appears to be hard to imagine. Yet, we have seen the way Mathieu is obviously interested in Pierre. The last scene at the beach, when Pierre and Mathieu are seen strolling in the sand, has a hopeful sign that things will be better between them as they watch a young boy, apparently lost, but then realizing the father is nearby.Jeremie Elkaim makes Mathieu one of the most complex characters in recent films. This is a young man who is hard to understand on a simple level. Mathieu has suffered a lot, first with the separation of his parents, then with his depressed mother and with losing Cedric. Stephan Rideau, who has been seen on other important French films, is equally good, as the shallow Cedric.While "Come Undone" will divide opinions, the film deserves a viewing because of the complexity and the care Sebastien Lifshitz gives to the story.
radioriot
O'k the guys are cute... but what happened? I hate sub titles, but usually they at least let you know what is going on. They are few and far between in this movie, because there is so little dialogue during important scenes. Lots of talking when nothing is going on or they are just sitting around shooting the breeze. Then the movie jumps from the beginning to the ending to the middle. It jumps from winter to summer back to winter then a different summer....! I liked the story and the actors were very good, but the director or editor forgot to tell US what was happening. Too many holes. We had to guess most of the time. This isn't a spoiler cause I am asking a question... at the end, why did they break up... they lost me there some place. They are supposed to write dialogue so that we can follow the story, not get lost. Good movie poorly executed!
dancallaghan
To be perfectly honest, I only watched this film originally because it's a gay film and I felt obliged. (The cover, oddly resembling that of a porn flick, may have also influenced my decision ...) I was expecting little more than a pair of hot guys who get it on (and they are hot, and they do get it on).There were two things I wasn't prepared for: the story, centering on Matthieu, is told by interleaving three periods of time together. Unfortunately, it takes the audience quite by surprise (it took me a while to figure out what was going on, and when). Also, by giving us a glimpse of what the future holds early in the film, I spent the whole rest of it waiting for a tidy (or at least satisfying) resolution, but none comes. Instead the audience is left to piece the film together and guess what went unsaid. For me this was a major down-side, as I always prefer a film with a solid (unpredictable) ending, or at least to leave me thinking (but _not_ wondering what the hell was going on).That said, the second thing I wasn't prepared for was how effective the two guys were as a couple. They were believable, and although Jérémie Elkaïm's acting leaves a lot to be desired I still found myself wanting to watch them. This is more than can be said about many onscreen couples.Overall worth watching, even if only for the two attractive young men and the full frontal nudity, but be prepared for a lack of continuity and coherence (at least Memento made sense eventually!), and don't expect any kind of satisfaction at the end. 5/10