Heartbeats (2010)

73% of critics liked it
(66 reviews)
68% of users liked it
(7,988 ratings)

Xavier Dolan's sexy and stylish HEARTBEATS is a comic exploration of a romantically obsessed menage-a-trois. HEARTBEATS was a hit at the Cannes Film Festival, winning the Youth Prize, and an official selection of the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival. Part farce, part exploration of the… More Xavier Dolan's sexy and stylish HEARTBEATS is a comic exploration of a romantically obsessed menage-a-trois. HEARTBEATS was a hit at the Cannes Film Festival, winning the Youth Prize, and an official selection of the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival. Part farce, part exploration of the complexity of love and desire, HEARTBEATS centers on two close friends, Francis (Xavier Dolan) and Marie (Monia Chokri), who find themselves fighting for the affections of the same striking young man (Neils Schneider). The more intimate the trio becomes, the more unattainable the object of their infatuation seems, sending the friends' obsession into overdrive. -- (C) IFC Films

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Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 42 min.
Directed By: Xavier Dolan
Written By: Xavier Dolan
Genres: Drama, Romance, Art House & International

In Theaters: Feb 25, 2011 Limited
On DVD: Jul 26, 2011
Studio: IFC Films

Critic Reviews

Stephanie Merry, Washington Post
Spends 100 minutes dispensing painful examples of how infatuation turns people into idiots.
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune
Not too deep but oh so pretty, "Heartbeats" presents a hyper-stylized look at a love triangle, a sort of "Jules and Jim" for millennials.
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer
Alas, although Heartbeats is quite lovely to look at, there isn't much going on after all.
David Wiegand, San Francisco Chronicle
"Heartbeats" charts its own course.
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe
All the dramatic protraction gets at both a heaviness of romantic desire and emotional viscosity.
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times
Dolan is proving to be adept at and unafraid of teasing out the flaws of his characters, seemingly more concerned with whether they are interesting than whether an audience will like them.
Eugene Novikov, Film Blather
May be the most raw and visceral cinematic portrayal of infatuation I've ever seen, with nearly every shot conveying aching, unrequited desire.
Simon Reynolds, Digital Spy
In Dolan, the hipster crowd might well have found their latest poster boy.
Alistair Harkness, Scotsman
Who knew being young, beautiful and hip could be so tedious?
Philip French, Guardian [UK]
It's likeable enough, though there's far too much slow motion.
Anthony Quinn, Independent
A subtle and painfully amusing battle of wills.
Derek Malcolm, This is London
Lushly, not to say swishly made, the whole thing is really just a pseudo-poetic trifle.
Peter Bradshaw, Guardian [UK]
There is something rather flimsy about Heartbeats. That said, it certainly shows that Dolan has quite a career ahead of him.
Matt Bochenski, Little White Lies
Hipster's delight.
Catherine Bray, Film4
Every frame is a joy to look at, and the three leads very appealing.
Sloan Freer, Radio Times
Ultimately, Dolan's image-led central characters and their shallow, bitchy concerns won't appeal to everyone, but those who've experienced l'amour fou themselves will find plenty to enjoy.
Nigel Andrews, Financial Times
Dolan has a gift but he hasn't fully unwrapped it.
Ben Walters, Time Out
It can seem as if style is all in Dolan's films, but as well as revelling in its pleasures, they also dissect its limitations - sometimes without anaesthetic.
Nicola Balkind, The Skinny
Opening with a recurring set of interviews with love scorned young people, Heartbeats lays down a tonne of 20-something sarcasm communicated through tongue-clicks, snide smirks and eye-rolls galore.
Neil Smith, Total Film
Sumptuously photographed and elegantly stylised, Heartbeats' exterior is as seductive as Schneider's R-Pattzalike. Dig beneath the surface, though, and there ain't much there.

Read all 25 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Anthony L

Heartbeats is seductively subtle both in its humour and in its drama. I didn't 'lol' but I did titter and smile through-out, which is better I think. Monia Chokri and Xavier Dolan are brilliant as best friends in competition, never auguring but saying a thousand words… More
Heartbeats is seductively subtle both in its humour and in its drama. I didn't 'lol' but I did titter and smile through-out, which is better I think. Monia Chokri and Xavier Dolan are brilliant as best friends in competition, never auguring but saying a thousand words with a few glances and gestures. It's also seductive visually, not just because everyone is disgustingly beautiful but because Xavier Dolan has such a talent at such a young age, it's clear to see he was born to do this. Sure his influences may be obvious but there is no mistaking his understanding of what works and his own ideas. The last 10 minutes is brilliant brilliant brilliant cinema, very chic, very sophisticated and very charming. I absolutely loved it. Xavier Dolan is a film maker to watch out for!
Carlos M

A spectacular film that left me astonished. Xavier Dolan is so young but already so incredibly talented and bright, and he proves that once again, starring, directing and producing this fascinating work about passion, obsession and the idealized nature of unrequited love.
Daniel P

As with his first film, Dolan's "Heartbeats" is interested in the passive-aggressive, and his style brings these little things that people do to the forefront. A subtle and by times surreal film about a presumably bisexual Adonis and the man and the woman who are in… More
As with his first film, Dolan's "Heartbeats" is interested in the passive-aggressive, and his style brings these little things that people do to the forefront. A subtle and by times surreal film about a presumably bisexual Adonis and the man and the woman who are in love with him, this film goes even further, punctuating itself with interviews à la When Harry Met Sally, allusions to classic films (Breakfast at Tiffany's) and raw, personal moments as well. In my opinion, Dolan wrote a little past the ending in this one - there was a beautiful ending about four minutes before the actual ending - but I can see how it works both ways. Another hit from the French-Canadian Fellini, though. Dolan is one of the world's best up-and-coming directors: get in on the ground floor and see ths movie!
Panta O

Delightful Canadian drama with a French taste directed by Xavier Dolan. It is a story about romantic obsession 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 and I am really sorry I didn't… More
Delightful Canadian drama with a French taste directed by Xavier Dolan. It is a story about romantic obsession 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 and I am really sorry I didn't had a chance to see it earlier! There is lots of movies which think that they are dealing with obsession mixing up that subject with just an ordinary crush. By contrast, Xavier Dolan's movie gives us a feel of almost aching because of the unrequited desire. I liked his light-footed style of directing which was full of life, and that life brings joy when they are together and pain when a fierce erotic energy has to evaporate before reaching the object because it was one sided! Inclusion of the recurring set of interviews with love scorned young people brings us to reality today's inclusion of heaps of sarcasm (communicated through tongue-clicks, snide smirks and eye-rolls) in "modern relationships"... Youthful and enjoyable if you don't mind a little bit of pain .
George N

Did you think in a million years you would ever see another movie as good as Jules and Jim that dealt with the same issues? Xavier Dolan has crafted that film.
Quinto W

From a technical standpoint, the film is flawless, with gorgeous shots, beautiful cinematography, fitting soundtrack and great performances - but the characters are never truly established from the beginning, therefore their actions, instead of being truthful and cute/heartbreaking,… More
From a technical standpoint, the film is flawless, with gorgeous shots, beautiful cinematography, fitting soundtrack and great performances - but the characters are never truly established from the beginning, therefore their actions, instead of being truthful and cute/heartbreaking, are just... well... very pathetic and the two main protagonists come off as rather shallow (she borders on psychopath).
Laurence C

Continuously refrained from coming alive by an arsenal of exhaustingly mannered flourishes, but very much aware of what makes a young adult relationship triangle tick. Drifting away from the dour, angsty self-involvement that characterized J'ai Tue Ma Mere, Xavier Dolan's… More
Continuously refrained from coming alive by an arsenal of exhaustingly mannered flourishes, but very much aware of what makes a young adult relationship triangle tick. Drifting away from the dour, angsty self-involvement that characterized J'ai Tue Ma Mere, Xavier Dolan's second cinematic offering in a year has a better-adjusted melancholy to it than its predecessor. If some character sketches feel somewhat incomplete, the obvious filmic influences strain to pass as necessary and many of the screenplay's patterns circle back on themselves, it is the the spot-on depiction of a typically Montrealish microclimate of aesthetic-obsessed hipsters that gives the film some of the significance it truly desires to wield. Dolan orients his well-chosen cast (including himself) in a recognizable, if not entirely convincing, sort-of neurotic spaz. For the most part, it's Monia Chokri who molds the strongest, richest character out of a familiar figure. One has to wonder, though, why this game of illusions and projections feels so tortured when it's mostly built on misunderstandings and is virtually sexless. Despite some heartfelt evidence that this isn't quite just some surface mood piece (and despite the succession of such lovely framings), the fading of the central friendship also unfortunately feels like it's not given enough weight by Dolan's eye, bringing Les Amours Imaginaires to the finished line as a pretty spotty, dodgy affair.