Heartbeats: Review

Any film littered with casual references to pine-nuts and theatre automatically gets my approval. If such allusions are delivered in French by characters gazing longingly at each other while wistfully smoking, then all the better.

In Heartbeats, two friends fall into a love triangle with Nicolas, a ‘self-satisfied Adonis’ whose beauty and detached charisma has the potential to break their hearts. The reaction provoked by this blonde epitome of ‘cool’ is exquisitely played out, as the other two characters descend into behaviour which is simultaneously moody and melodramatic.

Yet it is not just Marie and Francis who have become inspired by Nicolas. Taking on his understated beauty, the film seems to echo this charismatic man’s perfection. There’s an abundance of lingering slow motion shots which betray a fixation with image. Focusing on hair and clothing, Heartbeats takes us into a world powered by beauty, a place of constant aesthetic striving.

Using talking heads throughout the show to expand on themes of adoration and obsession, Heartbeats discusses sexuality in a frank yet poetic manner. Self-consciously pretentious this may be, but Heartbeats‘ heavily stylised Indie world is excused by a brilliant soundtrack, poetic script and gently sensationalised cinematography.



Best line: I don’t want to waste my life loving you badly

© BRWC 2010.


We hope you're enjoying BRWC. You should check us out on our social channels, subscribe to our newsletter, and tell your friends. BRWC is short for battleroyalewithcheese.


Trending on BRWC:

Mission Impossible: Final Reckoning - The BRWC Review

Mission Impossible: Final Reckoning – The BRWC Review

By Josiah Teal / 27th May 2025
The Surfer: The BRWC Review

The Surfer: The BRWC Review

By BRWC / 25th May 2025

Final Destination: Bloodlines – Another Review

By BRWC / 23rd May 2025
Lilo & Stitch: Another Review

Lilo & Stitch: Another Review

By Josiah Teal / 7th June 2025
Lilo & Stitch: The BRWC Review

Lilo & Stitch: The BRWC Review

By BRWC / 31st May 2025

Cool Posts From Around the Web:



Alton loves film. He is founder and Editor In Chief of BRWC.  Some of the films he loves are Rear Window, Superman 2, The Man With The Two Brains, Clockwise, Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, Trading Places, Stir Crazy and Punch-Drunk Love.

NO COMMENTS

POST A COMMENT

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.