Sébastien Lifshitz's Come Undone is a real challenge to watch – not because of its content (although there are lots of penis shots), but because of its structure.  It could take viewers a good 30 to 40 minutes to finally settle into Lifshitz's story, which almost haphazardly flops around using flashbacks and flashforwards like they're going out of style.  But if you can claw your way through it all, Undone becomes increasingly interesting as it approaches its finale.

Lifshitz's story (co-written by Stéphane Bouquet) focuses on the first love of college-bound 18-year-old Matthieu (Jérémie Elkaïm), who is vacationing with his family near Nantes.  Well, most of his family, anyway.  Matthieu's father is back in Paris because he has too much work, and his mother (Dominique Reymond), a clinically depressed pill-popper, is only there in form.  His sister Sarah (Laetitia Legrix) is sarcastic and full of spite, while Annick (Marie Matheron), a friend of the family, seems to be the glue that holds the whole dysfunctional bunch together.

One day while at the beach with Sarah, Matthieu locks eyes with a hunky local lad named Cédric (Stéphane Rideau), a more experienced boy (and ex-hustler, to boot) who works at a local waffle vendor.  Sparks fly and a physical relationship quickly follows, despite the fact Matthieu has apparently had no previous sexual experience, gay or otherwise.  Passionate trysts turn to ugly spats, and Matthieu becomes somewhat unhinged, leading up to Undone's gut-wrenching finale...which you kind of see at the beginning because of the film's screwy construction.

The high point here is the acting, which never once seems like acting.  But the story is essentially about a shy, quiet boy falling for a rough partner from the other side of the tracks.  It's nothing new, but worth a viewing if only for the performances of Elkaïm and Rideau.