good back-story, and good acting

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

The thing is this, despite having a relatively short screen time, the film still manages to feel like it's spinning in the same wheels for most of its runtime. The actors are fine (although Dolan's starting to show his limitations as an actor and perhaps he should cast others, something that he wisely did for Mommy). The film seems to feel like it's mostly just style and no real substance. There could've been a rather normal love triangle film in here somewhere, and yet Dolan doesn't even really want to do that. I'm not even sure what he really wanted to do, either way. Easily his weakest film and not one I'd recommend. There's simply nothing original here to recommend, certainly not in terms of theme.

On the whole, I enjoyed many moments of 'Heartbeats' ('Les Amours Imaginaires'), and I disliked many others -- such as the self-indulgence of the filmmaker/actor, in obviously relishing at showing to the camera his face (too elongated chin and very long teeth ?), his hands (with rather very unkempt nails). His very short stature may be fine, for now (when he's boyishly young), but later.….. ? I have the impression that he is unable to watch the 'rushes' of what he films with much objectivity. And all these slow-motioned scenes ….often boring, I thought. About the songs he uses in the background: they often 'reflect' or even 'explain' some situations, but when used in these ways, are they WELL used -- I mean a movie's script and acting should be self-sufficient. Sure, music can set a mood, even amplify it -- but rarely more -- in very good movies. Anyway, Dolan may well be a genius: only the future will confirm or infirm this. Good luck to him -- at the very least for his determination to express himself and his apparent total lack of self-consciousness. As someone noted, 'The Innocents' almost dealt with the very same subject -- but in my humble opinion, to much better results. And Dolan knows it very well, since he has the 'honesty' of having one of the young men of Bertolucci's movie appear in the very last scene -- hinting that the pattern is set and about to start, all over again -- for the two main characters, played by Miss Monia Chokri and Dolan himself. Very good point and so accurate about infatuation : do we ever really learn from our past mistakes – when our UNHEALED emotions are concerned ?

First off, let me say that this movie is very chic.The pacing of the main plot is inter-cut with clips of other characters discussing their own romances or failed romances Harry Met Sally Style - except the tales that these characters are relating is nowhere near as cutesy.The basic plot of the movie is thus, a gay friend and a straight friend both have the hots for the same super-smooth blond, Nicholas (Niel Schnieder).Both Xavier's character (who seems like he is Xavier himself) and Marie, played by Monia Chokri are friendly and flirtatious with the object of their affections - but in the end all is for naught and the player chooses neither.The look of the movie is sleek in terms of style and there is a lot to enjoy here in terms of character development and dialogue. It also neatly avoids happy skip into the sunset endings in favour of brutal realism.

Francis (a gay man) is friends with Marie (a straight woman). When they meet Nicolas, a young Adonis, they both fall for him and a competition ensues for his affections. We are clear where Francis and Marie stand in this threesome, but what Nicolas is up to remains a mystery. There are hints that he may be gay, like the time he comments to a young man at a party, "Did it hurt too much when you fell from heaven?" Nicolas had to be aware of the intensity of the feelings he was arousing in his friends, but his desire was apparently to keep them on the hook to feed his own ego. We get evidence of the game he was playing when the jealousy between Francis and Marie over Nicolas erupted into a physical fight and he only stood back and smirked.As this movie went along I kept thinking, "There isn't much here." But when it was over I came to feel the the whole was greater than the sum of its parts. The intensity and pain of unrequited young love is captured, sometimes with a disappointed look, sometimes with a scream of pain, sometimes with graphic detail as when Francis puts one of Nicolas' shirts over his head and masturbates. Finally both Francis and Marie force the issue. In one of the most painful scenes Francis confesses to Nicolas that he wants to kiss him, only to be met with the response, "How could you ever think I was gay?" Well, Nicolas was not making it all that clear that he wasn't. Marie's confession of love was also rebuffed. A humorous and insightful final scene has you thinking that the whole scenario is about to start all over again.It's the style of the film that will engage you or put you off. There are a lot of slow motion shots that seem to have little relevance to the story, like a long take of Francis walking down the street. In conjunction with dramatic use of color and some heavy-hitting music, the pacing of the slow motion shots helps create a dreamlike mood, and that is the appropriate mood for the story, since the three main characters are in a dreamlike state--how easy it is to project our needs and fantasies onto a likely candidate and ignore the taking of any hard data. I could have done with fewer slow motion shots of cigarette smoking. I suppose those were inserted in homage to "Breathless," but they don't play too well fifty years on. There are a number of other retro touches in evidence, from Marie's dresses to Francis' pompadour.When I found out that the guy who played Francis (Xavier Dolan) was the writer and director and was only 21 years old at the time I could only think, "The kid's got style." This movie has a single theme that is handled well. I look forward to seeing films where Dolan applies his talents to more complex material.