La confusion des genres

At the first sigh, an easy French comedy. Nice, seductive, proposing a large ball of sentimental relations, a confuse lawyer and a gallery of characters around him, a wife and a boyfriend and a client in huge confusion of sentiments but decised to demonstrate his love to his girfriend , an lawyer looking for certitudes and real love, for happiness and comfortable compromises.

At the second view, it can be a provocative challenge to reflection about the other and yourself, about life stuffs and proper options.

In both perspectives, a smart crafted film .The cast remains the basic virtue of the film -, from Pascal Greggory and Vincent Martinez to Cyrille Thovenin, not ignoring Nathalie Richard and Julie Gayet.

While it is definitely true that there are characters that do not experience a 180 degree change by the end of the film, the characters don't stay the same, either. And since that isn't the plot point that the movie hinges on, it doesn't feel like it matters in the end. The majority of the characters come across as very real people, three-dimensional, and not movie-clichés.

The actors are wonderful; there is no hesitation in any of the performances (even in the most revealing scenes). I bought the American DVD, which included a commentary with the director, and actors Pascal Greggory and Cyrille Thouvenin, and was especially delighted to find that they had done the commentary in English.

(1) Poor Alain......what a strange man. He is damaged goods, and perhaps that's why we are shown several scenes of his mother:: The Queen of Damaged Goods. Alain can sometimes show passion with someone, but he can't be constant with someone.....he can't be monogamous. What a question mark of a human being.

(2) But it is not only Alain who needs our pity:: Poor Christophe--- Alain is the opposite of who this young man needs (remember, if you will, what C's own father says that he needs). Cyrille Thouvenin does a very good job with the Christophe role (his performance alone makes this review's 6th Star), but he is able to do oh-so-much more in that greater French production:: "JUST A QUESTION OF LOVE."

(3) PS: Alain's life is not just one of Confusion; it is one of utter chaos.

I've watched this only now because the poster and publicity back in 2001 didn't seem promising - decided to give it a try because of Julie Gayet, who is likely to become the next First Lady of France.

What pleasantly surprised me though is that it avoids wallowing in negative stereotypes of bisexuals, while at the same time not presenting its anti-hero as a likable guy. If there's one thing that I (as a queer person) find irritating about gay men is that they are rather demanding when it comes to respecting their identity, but unwilling to grant that respect to sexual orientations other than their own, with a particularly negative bias towards bisexuality. 'Confusion of Genders' toys with this quite admirably: the main character - through his bisexuality and brusque openness about it - constantly challenges the people around him into both attraction and repulsion.

His shifting affections and emotions are easily forgiven by his partners because he's open about them; being able to express his feelings clearly seems to make him irresistible - even though he is far from attractive and (too) often just telling his lovers to buzz off. But they seem to prefer even the most complex relationships over loneliness and lies - that's where the strange dry humor of this piece comes from. Needless to say, this will infuriate those who come to this with the expectation of a bit of silly antics and skin, which explains its low rating. Be warned that this is by no means an easy film to watch, even though it is good for quite a few laughs.

'Confusion of Genders' is both a (sometimes overbearingly) intellectual farce and a step away from the usual gay/gender-bender clichés. If you're bi and frustrated about being vilified in (not just) gay-themed fiction, this one is for you. If you're anything else, open-minded and tired of being fed the same old sexuality-based stereotypes over and over again, you might like this as well.

A giant custard pie smack in the kisser of anyone who has ever claimed "but I'm really bisexual," when that's not the case at all "La Confusion des Genres" is miles ahead of the formulaic likes of "Le Placard" when it comes to making a comedy about gay life today. As he's shown in films as diverse as "Pauline at the Beach" and "Those Who Love Me Can Take the Train," Pascal Greggory is a master of guilty sexual sneakiness. Worth seeing for the wedding scene alone.