Cheap Come Undone (DVD) (Jérémie Elkaïm, Stéphane Rideau) (Sébastien Lifshitz) Price

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Customer Reviews of Come Undone

Very different from American filmmaking
Do yourself a favor and get the background on this movie BEFORE seeing it. I struggled with the editing and timeline jumps -- the movie apparently employs flashbacks but makes no effort to transition them smoothly. French filmmakers seem to love the "back of the head" shots and there are PLENTY of them in this movie. The editing was truly awful, I think. There were multiple scenes which had no dialogue, didn't develop the characters, and served absolutely no viable purpose to the plot. I don't think every frame of a movie should be filled with sound effects or dialogue or a cheesy soundtrack, but this film has far too many LONG stretches of total silence that don't serve to advance the story. I just don't understand it, I guess. The subtitles weren't at all distracting, though, and the storyline in itself was quite good...not nearly as tidy and saccharin as many American movies of this genre. The performances of nearly all the principal characters were enjoyable as well. Also, the French take on nudity and sexuality is so refreshing. Clearly, it's just not the big freaking deal over there as Americans make it out to be... particularly the whole penis stigma. Doesn't seem to exist in French films, but male frontal nudity is just next to taboo in American movies. If it weren't for the choppy editing and the abrupt, random bouncing back and forth in the timeline of the characters' lives, I would have completely enjoyed this movie. I would recommend it, but like I said, get a grip on the movie's story before watching it or you'll likely just be going "Huh??" pretty regularly through the film. :)

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Very, very slow.
I had reasonable expectations for this film - I didn't go in with high hopes, and I didn't go in thinking it would suck. What I didn't expect (because I hadn't read the reviews) were the long, drawn-out, wordless interludes featuring a depressed Mathieu staring unendingly at something, and the completely unsatisfying and sudden ending.

In a nutshell, the movie centers around Mathieu, an 18-year-old young man vacationing with his family at the beach. His family consists of his chronically depressed mother, his angry sister, and someone who may be their aunt, and no one is terribly happy with each other. Mathieu meets Cedric at the beach, and there is an instant spark between them. The two soon become intimate and then fall in love. The film shifts back and forth through about three different times in these peoples' lives, showing us what happened, and showing us (sort of) how they got there.

There are a few fairly intense erotic scenes between Cedric and Mathieu, and, sadly, tho are the only real highlights of the film, unless you really, really enjoy the aforementioned angst-ridden staring-out-the-window sequences interspersed with family hostility and bitterness.

The ending gives utterly no sense of closure, and the viewer is left wondering, "why was I supposed to care about these people, and why did I just spend two hours of my life watching this crap?"

The special features aren't worth mentioning, either. Overall, it was hugely disappointing, and I don't recommend it at all. It's less of a love story and more of an introverted series of flashbacks.

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Come undone
The key to this movie for me is patience. I found it challenging to understand the subtle nuances, and appreciate the periods of silence. I am pleased I stuck with it as it has been an interesting journey. Besides, the actors are a joy to look at.