Imagine falling for the same guy as your best friend and realizing that both of you are probably just projecting your own fantasies onto a person who might not even care.
Xavier Dolan was only 21 when he made this, and you can really feel that youthful energy and obsession in every frame. Heartbeats is not your typical love story. It is more about the obsession of love - that stage where you analyze every text message and wonder if a simple "hello" means something deeper.
The Style and The Vibe
The first thing you notice is how beautiful everyone and everything looks. The colors are bright, the vintage clothes are perfect, and the slow-motion walks are set to the best soundtrack. That Dalida cover of "Bang Bang" will stay in your head for days. It feels like a very long music video, but in a way that actually works for the story.
The Cast
Dolan himself plays Francis, and he is great at showing that quiet desperation. Monia Chokri is fantastic as Marie, with her vintage style and sharp attitude. Then there is Niels Schneider as Nicolas. He looks like he walked off a Greek statue, which makes it totally believable that both friends would lose their minds over him. The chemistry between them is awkward and tense, which is exactly how it feels when you are trying to impress someone you like.
There are these interview segments scattered throughout where random people talk about their own heartbreak. At first, they feel a bit separate from the main story, but they add a nice layer of reality to all the stylized drama. It reminds you that everyone has been that person waiting by the phone for a call that never comes.
If you like movies that focus on atmosphere and the small, painful details of a crush, you should definitely give this a watch. It is stylish, a bit pretentious in a fun way, and very relatable if you have ever been part of a messy love triangle.
