Dramedy • Unrated • 101 Minutes • 2025
When you hear someone call a film brave, what comes to mind? Politics? Identity? Revolutionary? What about honesty? What director, co-writer, and co-star Eric K. Boulianne builds in Follies is an honest, funny and intimate film about relationships and sex that balances beautifully between modernity and timelessness. It boasts a wonderful cast and a playful tone that helps approach much of the kink and sex comedy gently.
After sixteen years of marriage, François (Eric K. Boulianne) and Julie (Catherine Chabot) decide to experiment with an open marriage to initiate new romance and find new ways of intimacy. While kink and self-discoveries are found, their newfound non-monogamy puts pressure on their own marriage, sense of self, and two young daughters (Agathe Ledoux and Simone Ledoux).
What Boulianne does exceptionally well in his directorial debut is the framing of the family unit. It’s familiar, grounded and simply put, it feels like a normal marriage and family. Because of this, Boulianne opens the doors for the audience to have their own voyeuristic experience that leaves you feeling like you’re watching something forbidden — like spying on a neighbour. Together with Boulianne’s and Chabot’s chemistry, they elevate their domestic insecurities and altercations far above the average kitchen sink drama and into a realm of sexual exploration and self-discovery.
Although their particular ventures into kink may not be for everyone, I encourage you to step outside of your comfort zone and embrace the idea that through their erotic experimentation emerges the nuances of familiarity and comfort that can stall a marriage. There, of course, is also the added intrigue of spectating from the comfort of your own home and peering into the world of sex clubs, private hotel rooms, and intimate exchanges that’ll pique anyone’s interest.
Shot on beautiful 16mm film by François Messier-Rheault, the graininess from the stock feels gritty and raw, but also timeless. What feels like a film lost in time is brought back to the present day with all our familiar tech: iPhones, computers, and dating apps. While the grittiness of the film can force a darker tone than it’s hoping, it’s that quality that rubs up against you and forces you to explore that edgy sexual territory. As Follies explores its sexual “follies,” it also acts as a reminder that men’s forays into certain “submissive” kinks are rarely discussed and generally looked down upon. On the other hand, Julie’s sexual exploration omits much of the female gaze expected in many films and brings an unflinching analysis to both female and male sexuality.
The relationships, the performances, the cinematography, all ground the film in realism, but the real test is typically reserved for the writing and dialogue. And once again, like everything else, the dialogue is truly a masterclass of exposition. While many of the characters hold their emotions close to their chest, like François, when those emotions are challenged, he becomes defensive — a realistic response to any perceived attack. Balancing what to show, what not to show and when to show it is always at the heart of the writer’s struggle, but Boulianne and co-writer Alexandre Auger found the pieces and put them together with ease to build to a crescendo into an incredible bedroom argument worthy of any psychoanalytic analysis.
It’s always exciting when an actor, writer, or anyone steps outside of their comfort zone and pushes the boundaries of what we can expect to see on screen. A film that examines its characters through the lens of sexual desire and insecurities through experimentation is something that, at this quality, is under-represented in film. Allow yourself to get comfy, make sure your kids are out of the room, and peer into the psycho-sexual nature of a couple trying to find their love by any means rather than asking that one simple, but terrifying question: “Do you still love me?”
Follies (Folichonneries) is nominated for eight Canadian Screen Awards.
Where to Watch
Follies (Folichonneries) was rented on AppleTV.
Also worth checking: CBC Gem (often carries Canadian titles not listed elsewhere).
about the author
Merrick Gajdics is founder, publisher and editor of The Canadian Film Reviewer.