Elena Undone

If you merged all lesbian films together and then took the average of those films and made it into one movie, you’d end up with Elena Undone. If you’ve seen five or more lesbian films in your life, you have already seen Elena Undone.

Elena Undone is the story of Elena, a proper housewife in a less that perfect marriage to a pastor. Elena develops a very close relationship with a woman named Peyton. This friendship inevitably becomes romantic. Of course, the stress of a loveless marriage and an affair with a woman wreaks havoc on Elena’s life and loved ones. This havoc can only solved by Elena being true to herself and honest about her feelings for Peyton.

I’ll say it again, this is the most standard lesbian movie ever. It has a great deal of often-used lesbian tropes: the heterosexual woman in a loveless marriage, the close female friendship that turns to something more, the gay but only for you trope, the idea of soulmates and more.

Within these unoriginal parameters, the film is fine. The directing is acceptable and the story, while not original does hold together. The actresses are very good. Necar Zadegan and Thunderbird Dinwiddie have great chemistry and I enjoy their love scenes. Also, Thunderbird Dinwiddie is pretty much the greatest name of all time.

What bugged me about Elena Undone is that they kept tantalizing me with more interesting stories. Throughout the film, Elena’s friend Wave is working on a documentary on soulmates. All of the stories Wave captures are far more interesting than the story actually portrayed. For example, one interview was about the lesbian relationship that flourished between a former nun and an underprivileged drug addict. That’s a plot I’ve haven’t seen before. It’s a story that could be adapted into anything from a tear-jerker Oscar-bait film to a sleazy exploitation film. Either way, I’d rather watch that than another film about a woman in a loveless marriage who becomes singularly gay for her new, dynamic female friend.

Elena Undone is basically lesbian film 101. It’s a good introduction point to the genre given how standard its story is while still being a wholly competent film. However if, like me, you’ve already seen several dozen lesbian films, Elena Undone becomes surplus to requirement because you’ve already seen it.

Overall rating: 6.1/10