| Heartbeats | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Xavier Dolan |
| Produced by | Xavier Dolan |
| Written by | Xavier Dolan |
| Starring | Monia Chokri Niels Schneider Xavier Dolan |
| Cinematography | Stéphanie Anne Weber Biron |
| Release date(s) | May 16, 2010 |
| Running time | 95 minutes |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | French |
Heartbeats (French: Les Amours imaginaires) is a 2010 Canadian drama film directed by Xavier Dolan. It follows the story of two friends who both fall in love with the same man. It premiered in the Un Certain Regard section of the 2010 Cannes Film Festival.[1]
Contents |
Marie and Francis first meet Nicolas at a dinner party, where they both feign disinterest in him. Over the course of the next couple of the weeks, the three form a close friendship, meeting up regularly and even sleeping together in the same bed. However, it is clear that both Marie and Francis have an interest in Nicolas beyond friendship; Marie is visibly disappointed when she hopes to enjoy an intimate meal with Nicolas at a Vietnamese restaurant, only to see Francis and his friends there, and Francis is consumed by lust for Nicolas to the extent that he vigorously masturbates over the smell of Nicolas' clothes when left alone in his apartment. Both are led on by their interpretation of Nicolas' actions, such as eating a cherry from Francis' hand and telling Marie he loves them. Their feelings lead to competition between the two friends for Nicolas' affections, evidenced by their rivalry over the gifts they buy for his birthday.
The relationship culminates in a trip to stay in the vacation home of Nicolas' mother. Marie becomes jealous when Nicolas feeds Francis a marshmallow, telling him to eat it slowly like a 'striptease', and she goes to bed early. The next morning, she wakes up alone and again observes the two frolicking together from afar. She decides to leave, at which point Francis chases after her and the two end up wrestling on the ground. Nicolas is not impressed and decides to leave, saying they can love him or leave him. On returning from the trip, they don't see Nicolas, both leaving messages on his answerphone and Marie writing him a love letter. Eventually, Francis meets Nicolas and ends up pouring out his feelings, telling him he loves him and wants to kiss him. The only response from Nicolas is to ask him 'What made you think I was gay?', leaving Francis devastated. Later, Marie catches up with Nicolas in the street, and tells him about the love letter, but implies she wrote it to a female friend. From this, Nicolas comes to the conclusion that Marie has a female lover, which she denies. As Nicolas goes to leave, claiming to have left something on the stove, she tells him the truth about the letter but this makes no difference.
The film concludes with Marie and Francis re-establishing their friendship and Nicolas moving away to Asia. In the final scene, they are again at a party, looking for potential lovers, and there's a suggestion that the whole thing could start all over again.
The film won the The Sydney Film Prize at the 2010 Sydney Film Festival.[2]