Elena Undone (2010)

I have been reading the reviews of this movie on this site and I wonder if I saw the same movie. In fact I have seen it a couple of times now and enjoyed it both times. I'll admit the story is a little different but I found it interesting. This was a love story - who does not enjoy a great love story. Both women coming from two different places meet, and over time fall in love. One is married with a son which of course will complicate things. Even though you know that throughout the movie that people will be hurt, I found myself rooting for them to get together. I thought that Nicole Conn's slow developing of the relationship going from friendship to lovers was outstanding. They could not help themselves - period. Two beautiful actresses that were not only beautiful but talented made this movie hard for me to take my eyes off it for a second. Was it perfect? I don't know - I sort of enjoyed the different story line of love guru, Pastor of a hateful church etc. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to see not just a lesbian movie but a movie about finding love.

It was interesting watching Elena Undone for the first time, as it's a favorite of many of my friends, and my expectations were high. At first, the movie feels a bit piecemeal, like a collage of the characters background intermixed with an essay on soul mates. But as the narrative emerges, the gorgeous Necar Zadegan and stunning Tracey Dinwiddle's stellar performances seduce the audience as they seduce each other. The chemistry between the women is simply electric. Conn delivers a depth of relationship not commonly portrayed on the screen. As Elena's doomed life spirals further into chaos, it's unclear whether she'll have the courage to break her sense of duty to grab hold of a once in a lifetime opportunity for happiness.Time will prove that Elena Undone is one of the great lesbian romances of all time.Q.C. Masters – Author of the Path Not Chosen

This movie has an intriguing plot: married woman meets lesbian and discovers another side of herself.I felt the casting was good. The two female leads were believable enough, and I felt that particularly about the character Peyton and Traci Dinwiddie's portrayal of her.Other than that, I think we just got barely below the surface of things. I could have done without the whole love guru guy and his narration - gave the film a rather after-school-special feel to it. And I thought that having Elena be, not just married, but married to a conservative preacher, was a bit much. Her character just didn't fit that profile at all.My biggest disappointment was probably the lack of torment in Elena's character. She was truly the aggressor in the affair and seemed to not really be bothered much by the fact that she was cheating on her family while limiting her commitment to Peyton. In the scene just after the "longest on screen kiss", Elena is walking away, all a-flutter, and actually looking rather proud of herself. It came off as quite selfish as I think a truly compassionate woman would have strong conflicting emotions in such a situation, not a mischievous grin. As Peyton points out later in the midst of things, Elena just wants to "have her cake and eat it too".In fact, had Elena's son not discovered the affair, it seems that Elena would be content enough to continue to see Peyton on the side while remaining a cold fish to her frustrated husband.Contrastingly, Peyton is rather tormented. She fights her feelings for Elena, not just because Elena is supposedly straight, but also because she is married. After they do cross the line, she continues to struggle internally.So, in the end, not bad, but definitely could have been better.

OK, put away your presumptions and your prejudices about what a "lesbian" movie is. If you skip this movie because "it's about lesbians," or gays, or the mysterious "other," then you're missing out on one of the best romantic films I've ever seen.First, I'm a happily married straight guy, 45 years old. Now having dispensed with that, on to the review!As another reviewer has already noted, this is a romance film. It happens to be a romance film with two women as the lead actors. Sure, you can call it a lesbian film, if you wish to force it into some niche. You can note that the director and producer, both women, are partners, and therefore let that make a choice for you about the movie. I recommend, however, that you watch the film, and let it stand on its own merits. You won't be disappointed.While some say that this film appears to be somewhat formulaic (girl meets girl, girl loses girl, girl gets girl back in the end,) movies use formulas because 1) they work, and 2) they are true representations of how life happens. What separates this movie from other romance movies isn't that the main characters are women, but the visceral, raw, and quite real emotions captured by the camera and shown to us on film. I was bowled away by the acting, amazed by the cinematography, and stunned by the chemistry. Oh yes, there's chemistry! I'm making a distinction between the acting and the chemistry because I would like to speak to the acting in general, and the chemistry in particular. Am I exaggerating when I write "bowled away", "amazed", and "stunned?" OK, maybe a little bit. Obviously, I'm biased- I really like this movie! But allow me to explain.The acting in "Elena Undone" is wonderful. And I don't mean wonderful for an indie film. I mean truly wonderful. The phrase "suspension of disbelief" gets bandied about quite a bit in film reviews, and I don't want to, again, exaggerate, but I really felt like I was there when watching this movie. There were so many scenes where I was no longer sitting in my living room, but I was "there", at the park, or in Peyton's living room, or in her (their) bedroom... I felt like I was disembodied, hovering at the periphery of the scene, really watching events unfold in real-time! Not just the main characters Elena (Nacar Zadegan) and Peyton (Traci Dinwiddie), but all the actors performed wonderfully.The cinematography was also excellent. There are two main themes in the cinematography that I would like to speak to. One is the "style" of the movie, and the other, from a comparative point of view, is the role that the park plays in the movie. I can point to the "narration style" used where one of the actors, Tyler, talks to the camera in the guise of the cinematographer-type role that he plays in the movie. Similar to other movies that have used this device (Kenneth Branagh's "Othello" comes immediately to mind), it helps steady the movie and keeps things moving along. The park is another part of the cinematography that plays an important role in the movie. The park becomes almost like another part of the cast, present at many important points in the movie. It's there when Elena and Peyton first see each other, although they don't meet then. It's there when "girl loses girl," and also there when at the very end and the credits begin to roll, they are at their happiest. I bring these points up not because they are especially important, or especially poignant, but to demonstrate to you, the reader of this review, that particular care was spent in the cinematography of this movie. Please be assured, that if the cast and crew cared about these things, they certainly cared about all other aspects of this movie that make it so great.Lastly, the chemistry. This movie, were it not for the chemistry between Nacar Zadegan, and Traci Dinwiddie, would be an above average romance movie. With it, it explodes on the screen! From their first glance that shows interest, to their open conversations, to the scene where there is that first spark that ignites the tinder, to the scene where the tinder begins to blaze a little more, to that scene... that scene where the flame is no longer small, but all-consuming, engulfing them... I don't even know if I can properly even describe it to you, to give it its due. You just are going to have to take my word for it, when you see this scene, you will be so affected, as I was, it's so amazingly beautiful and raw- the acknowledgment of Elena's feelings, her forthrightness, yet tempered with her knowledge that she may be changing things irrevocably, but with her stubborn, almost petulant need to charge forward into the abyss... And by the way, it's not a sex scene that I'm writing about (while there is sex in the movie, it's thoughtfully and provocatively muted, sensual, loving, while still being erotic and sexy!) Anyway, I'm probably letting my feelings thinking about this scene get away with me, but once again, please let me say to you, you deserve to see this scene, and by extension, the whole movie!To summarize, and to close this somewhat lengthy and totally biased review, you need to see this movie. Yes you, straight man, as well as you, lesbian lady, and you too, curious lady. And hey, you too, straight woman with a boyfriend. All of you can put aside whatever baggage you're bringing to the table and watch this movie. If you aren't affected by this romance, this love story, this amazing retelling of how two people can meet, and fall in love, and run into problems, and become redeemed because of their unassailable love for each other, then you must be dead inside.