Smart, successful, and charming, Elsie is the perfect girlfriend; she also happens to be a serial monogamist, with a long history of broken hearts. When Elsie breaks up with her long-standing girlfriend to pursue another woman, she faces her mother’s disapproval, conflicting advice from friends, and the nagging suspicion that she may have made a big mistake. Set in the Parkdale neighborhood of Toronto, Portrait of a Serial Monogamist invites audiences to peek behind the curtain to a world of smart, funny and relatable queer characters, dealing with the universal complications of modern relationships. Not another coming out story, this is a fresh coming-of-middle-age romantic comedy.
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Reviews
Portrait of a Serial Monogamist is a charming and engaging romantic comedy of love lost and found. Elsie Neufeld (Diane Flacks) finds herself unable to make a long term commitment in her love life. She's either looking over her shoulder at the last love or looking ahead for the next best thing. And it's that foible of the human condition which makes this romcom so bittersweet. Flacks is strong and appealing. Vanessa Dunn as the new love is refreshing and real. And Carolyn Taylor is incredibly vulnerable and touching as the one that got away.But what makes the movie so fun and unique is a rich cast of friends and family that spark off of Flacks and keep the viewer laughing. This may be the only film with a cat funeral as a comic highpoint. The real star of the film is the city of Toronto. Directors Zeidler and Mitchell make Toronto as important to the story as Manhattan has been for Woody Allen. It's pure romance.
I liked this movie. While it is based in a lesbian setting, it is an interesting relationship movie which will appeal to everyone. The main character, Elsie, must learn some lessons about relationships, and in particular, how her conduct has hurt partners along the way. She comes to realize that her feelings have been shunted aside by a mantra that doesn't bear the test of time. It is an interesting movie which features great Toronto scenery as well as fine performances by the cast. I recommend it. This movie is currently ranked as the number one movie with a lesbian theme in North America. I hope that there is a sequel so we can learn how life evolved for the main characters.
I initially saw POSM at the InsideOut Gay/Lesbian film festival of Toronto at the Tiff Bell Lightbox and liked it so much I went to see it again when it opened at the Carlton Theatre. I love the movie's quirky characters as much as I enjoy that the actors themselves are from my hometown of Toronto. With the movie set in Toronto, there are insights into Toronto's Queer community and every scene is a glimpse of this great City. Being a lesbian, I also enjoyed the fun poked at some 'typical' lesbian attributes, for example: sleep triangles and numerous friends that are exes; cat-lovers; and bike-riding, gluten-free, vegetarian wiccans. If you'd like to see a colourful, quirky romp through some of Toronto's LGBTQ communities, this movie is a must-see for you!
Portrait of a Serial Monogamist (2015) was written and directed by John Mitchell and Christina Zeidler. The movie stars Diane Flacks as Elsie Neufeld, a beautiful lesbian woman who is, indeed, a serial monogamist.Elsie has a long history of close, loving relationships. However, when she tires of a relationship, she dumps her lover and finds another.In the beginning of the movie, with Elsie relating her techniques for separation, that behavior seems charming to us. However, the rest of the film shows the results of these techniques, and the results aren't pretty.I thought the acting was great--especially by Flacks. The subplots weren't great, but they were good enough. The main plot is what counts, however. Is "love them and leave them" OK, or is it cruel?We saw this film on the large screen at ImageOut, the wonderful Rochester LGBTQ Film Festival.
