YOU'LL GET OVER IT
Directed by: Fabrice Cazaneuve.
Produced by: Hervé Chabalier, Claude Chelli & Christophe Chevalier.
Written by: Vincent Molina.
Director of Photography: Stephan Massis.
Edited by: Jean-Pierre Bloc.
Music by: Michel Portal.
Released by: Picture This! Entertainment.
Language: French.
Country of Origin: France. 86 min. Not Rated.
With: Julien Baumgartner, Julia Maraval, François Comar, Jérémie Elkaïm, Christiane Millet & Antoine Michel.

You'll Get Over It covers all the bases of a contemporary coming-out story: the lying, the betrayal, the shock, and the locker room homophobia. Set in a suburban Paris high school, a popular athlete, Vincent, runs off to Paris for a rendezvous with an older man, while sleeping with his clear-headed girlfriend, Noémie. But a confrontational, openly-gay teenager (Come Undone's Elkaïm) threatens to blow his cover.

In shorter form, You’ll Get Over It could be part of a French version of the Boys' Shorts series. As it is, the film is too elementary - and perhaps not explicit enough - to appeal to adults, and its most likely intended audience, late teens, don't make up a significant portion of the foreign-film-going audience. With its frank approach and uplifting ending, this is unfortunate. All that said, the performances are subtle and strong, particularly those of the supporting cast, each of whom is given a moment to shine: Vincent's mother (Millet) or his "loser" straight brother, who's jealous of his champion younger brother. Indeed, it's Antoine Michel as Régis who remains true to the film's overall tone, while at the same time managing to bring at least some humor to a drama many of us have seen before. Steven Cordova is contributing editor to Film-Forward.com and a poet, whose chapbook, Slow Dissolve, is available from Momotombo Press.
June 18, 2004