Come Undone

Come Undone (original title Presque rien, which means Almost nothing, which is also the UK release title) is a 2001 French movie directed by Sebastien Lifshitz[?], depicting a stormy romance between two 18-year-olds set in Southern France[?] and what remains of that relationship eighteen months later. The film's universal appeal lets the viewer almost forget that it is about two males falling in love with each other.

Mathieu (Jeremie Elkaim[?]), is spending his summer vacation at the sea before starting to attend college in the fall to become an architect. His mother is deeply depressed because of a miscarriage, and his pubescing sister is simply unbearable.

Then he meets Cedric at the beach (Stephane Rideau[?], also the object of gay desires in Wild Reeds[?]), who is attractive and obviously looking for a boyfriend.

After the first shy kisses and embraces, the two boys begin a steamy affair, and Lifshitz does not hesitate to show that with realism.

A parallel plotline focuses on Mathieu eighteen months later, as he is recovering from the shock of their separation. Having tried to commit suicide, his psychiatrist sends him back to the small seaside town to learn to deal with what happened. While Lifshitz does not explicitly say why their relationship failed, the impression is conveyed that their characters are simply too different.

The film ends on a hopeful note, when Mathieu meets Pierre (Nils Ohlund[?]), another former boyfriend of Cedric's, and finally gets the feeling he has found someone who understands him.

The movie does not really narrate its plot, instead it switches effortlessly between the summer and the winter plotline, to evoke feelings similar to a daydream, recreating the tangle of emotions and memories in Mathieu's head.

For lack of a better comparison, this film can described as a more grown-up version of the UK movie, Beautiful Thing.