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!

• Walter M

  
  In "Heartbeats," Nicolas(Niels Schneider), a friend of a friend, is in Montreal after completing a temp job on an oil platform. Considering how handsome he is, it is no wonder that both Marie(Monia Chokri) and Francis(Xavier Dolan, who also writes and directs) are attracted… More
  In "Heartbeats," Nicolas(Niels Schneider), a friend of a friend, is in Montreal after completing a temp job on an oil platform. Considering how handsome he is, it is no wonder that both Marie(Monia Chokri) and Francis(Xavier Dolan, who also writes and directs) are attracted to him. That's especially true after he formally invites them both to this place to watch a movie. After which, they all sleep in the same bed together. As dull and flat as "Heartbeats" is, the movie does make one valid point when Francis says that some vintage nostalgia should be done away with. Applying that to the French New Wave, I personally think it is alright to venerate those films, but not imitate them which is what is going on here with Dolan adding little of interest or personality of his own. The interviews serve no purpose except to test the zoom function on the camera and might have worked if they had all been about the same person, which would have complemented the rest of the film nicely. In fact, the movie turns completely on a single conceit that while it makes perfect sense could be read in two ways, both equally cruel. Instead, I would have preferred a positive message about how adults need to share, too.

• 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.

Read all 8 featured audience ratings