In extremis

"In extremis" takes a very interesting subject,then completely botches the job.

A brother,Thomas, and a sister,Anne, lost their parents some years back.They never overcame the tragedy .After his partner's death,Thomas would like to adopt her son,Grégoire.But the society does not agree :Thomas is an unstable bisexual guy who hangs around the gay nightclubs,and Anne is nothing but a whore;besides,they have incestuous relations.

With its "cultural" hints,its sometimes inaudible lines and its turgid music,the movie fails totally to convince .Enough is enough.The scene when Grégoire attends an orgy is not even shocking:it's downright implausible.The director obviously wanted to make a daring work whereas the subject demanded simplicity and true emotion.We would like to side with Thomas and Anne and it's almost impossible .

Gay cinema has brought us marvels. This is not one. Pretentious, scriptless, unbearably slow and meaningless, this is yet again a story of a hesitating man torn between being what he is, gay and the love for his girlfriend. A drama shot in an apartment among Parisian petit bourgeois. The story never really takes off. The film is a collection of preposterous dramatic sequences, filmed with attitude posing for talent. As boring as it gets. A disappointment even for fans of Gay cinema. The cast is quite good with early performances of up and coming Julie Depardieu and Aureline Wiik. Both of them cannot do much to save such a bad script.

this movie is really an independant movie! we can think at Gus van sant or Larry clark it is a very interesting way to talk about our society, parents from the end of the sixteen, love etc... i think you love that kind of movie or you hate it cause it's really unconventional and original but certainly not a bad hollywood pop corn movie!!!! franck

While this was an interesting French film, it was both visually curious and emotionally unsettling throughout. The cast did an excellent job with what they were given to work with but therein lies the challenge. The script bounced about and the lighting was so dark, it made following a bit much at times. The ending left much to be desired as it resolved so little. So many plot points had been created but infinitely neglected. I didn't dislike the film. It simply left me hoping for a more substantial denouement. Still, I'd recommend this film if asked. But I would make the viewers aware it's more thoughts and feelings (for all of the characters) than a fully fleshed out story.

The story is about a stupidly indulgent young man who is virtually inured to the pain of those who love him simply because he will not grow up. The acting is excellent, the boy playing Greg is particularly good. However, the endless cigarette smoking (surely even the French don't light up as often as the leads in his film) is exasperating in this frustrating and often tedious film. Unless the audience has considerable sympathy for characters like Thomas, the time spent watching the film is wasted. Watching attractive people with their whole lives in front of them drink, sniff coke and generally over indulge themselves is boring, boring, boring. Even the ambiguous ending offers little in the way of hope or redemption.