Jump to the good stuff: The Story | Some Thoughts | The Final Verdict
The Story:
Clément, Alex et tous les autres (Clement, Alex, and Everyone Else) is a French film about two roommates, a gay man and a lesbian, who take on a third thinking that he’s gay.
Clément (Yannis Bougeard) and Alex (Carolina Jurczak) live in a spacious Paris apartment, which they once shared with Clément’s boyfriend, David (David Mora). After David takes a job in Nantes, he and Clément break up, and now Alex and Clément need a new roommate.
Leo (Bellamine Abdelmalek) is a straight man looking for an apartment. Knowing that Clément and Alex are looking for a gay roommate, he tells them that he’s gay. The three of them get on well, and they let him move in.
Things get complicated when Alex takes an interest in Leo’s friend, Maeva (Laura Boujenah), who is pretending to be a lesbian so she can visit Leo. And when Leo begins feeling romantic yearnings for Clément’s older sister, Ann (Chloé Berthier), things really get out of control.
Some Thoughts:
Although Clément, Alex et tous les autres is enjoyable, there’s not enough dramatic tension to pull you in. Part of the reason is that we don’t get to understand any of the characters’ motivations. It’s never clear how Clément and David met or what their relationship was like prior to the breakup.
Clément’s past is revealed as the film progresses, but it never goes into enough detail to paint the full picture. We find out that he and Ann share a father but have different mothers, that their father wasn’t around while they grew up, and about Clément’s first boyfriend. While it does explain why Clément is distant with people, we don’t get enough detail to feel for him.
There’s a similar problem with Alex, who has her own issues with dating and opening up to people. And again, we don’t get enough of her story to become emotionally involved. And the same is true for Leo. This lack of detail is a bit odd for movie that is character driven.
There’s no tension around Leo having to pretend that he’s gay to maintain his living situation. Aside from Clément and Alex being gay and lesbian, we’re never given a solid reason for their decision to want a gay roommate. It does get discussed, but the reason we get for this is that LGBT people have been discriminated against for years. If either Clément or Alex had issues with straight people in the past, it would make more sense–it would also add some much-needed drama.
The Final Verdict:
Clément, Alex et tous les autres is well acted and shot, but the story lacks depth and detail. It’s not boring, but it won’t draw you in, nor does it have the emotional impact that it deserves.