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Confusion Of Genders

2000, Movie, NR, 94 mins

Confusion Of Genders: Review

CONFUSION OF GENDERS | LA CONFUSION DES GENRES
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The lives of a cross-section of Parisians of both sexes become intertwined when they all get involved with the same man. Approaching middle age and uncertain where his life is headed, bisexual lawyer Alain (Greggory Pascal) wreaks havoc on the hearts of the men and women whose misfortune it is to be sucked into the vortex of Alain's chronic indecision. Tired of his parent's nagging and anxious to settle down into some sort of family life, Alain proposes marriage to his perpetually harried boss, Laurence (Nathalie Richard). Laurence likes the idea of holding out for true love, but reasons that a marriage of convenience is better than no marriage at all. She likes Alain, they're used to each other and after they successfully sleep together she figures they'll be able to have children, though she doubts the strength of her own maternal instincts. In light of his impending marriage, Alain breaks off his relationship with Marlene (Marie Saint-Dizier), but can't resist the aggressive advances of her handsome teenage brother, Christophe (Cyrille Thouvenin). Complicating matters further, Alain's recent client, the handsome but none-too-bright Marc (Vincent Martinez), has just been handed a life sentence in the double murder of a jeweler and a policemen. Marc begs Alain to deliver messages to his girlfriend, hairdresser Babette (Julie Gayet), who no longer wants anything to do with Marc. But she and Alain feel an unexpected and troubling mutual attraction. Laurence's pregnancy and the release of Marc's cellmate, Etienne (Alain Bashung), an older man of indeterminate sexuality but great loyalty to Marc, add two more variables to the already complex equation. As Alain juggles these various entanglements, his life seems increasingly unmanageable: He's engaged to one woman, flirting with another, living with a man almost young enough to be his son and anticipating fatherhood with an uneasy mix of delight and sheer terror. Though the film's frontal nudity and frequent sex scenes give it a superficial air of provocation, its characters are fundamentally conventional — with minor adjustments they could populate a television sitcom about romantically challenged singles. Building a narrative around a character as infuriatingly indecisive as Alain is a dangerous proposition, and novelist-turned-filmmaker Ilan Duran Cohen is surprisingly successful, helped by the ensemble cast's consistently strong and subtle performances. Pascal's low-key presence is particularly important, since in another actor's hands Alain's whining and waffling could easily be insufferable. (In French, with English subtitles.) leave a comment --Maitland McDonagh
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