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Elena Undone
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| Elena Undone | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Nicole Conn |
| Written by | Nicole Conn |
| Produced by | Jane Clark JD Disalvatore |
| Starring | Necar Zadegan Traci Dinwiddie Gary Weeks |
| Cinematography | Tal Lazar |
| Edited by | Nicole Conn Brian Wessel |
| Music by | Mark Chait |
Production company | |
Release date |
|
Running time | 111 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Elena Undone is a 2010 lesbian film written and directed by Nicole Conn and starring Necar Zadegan, Traci Dinwiddie, and Gary Weeks. It is based loosely on Conn's romance with filmmaker Marina Rice Bader.[1]
Plot
[edit]This section's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. (June 2016) |
The paths of Elena Winters (Necar Zadegan), a mother and pastor's wife, and Peyton Lombard (Traci Dinwiddie), a well-known lesbian writer randomly cross. Instantly, they feel drawn toward one another and eventually fall in love.
The movie opens in two places - following the two protagonists - first, within a church, where Elena's son, Nash, refuses to support an anti-homosexual protest, and then within a memorial service for Peyton's mother.
Elena and her husband Barry (Gary Weeks) are trying to conceive but it becomes clear that their efforts have been unsuccessful when Barry rebukes Elena after her period starts. Peyton starts cleaning out her mother's things, having flashbacks of her emotionally troubled mother as she works. Peyton finds a tape entitled 'Women's Glory Project' with her things, and becomes obsessed with it for some time.
Elena visits her friend Tyler for advice, telling him that she and Barry are going to adopt instead of trying to have another child. He asks "what's in it for (her)," and insists (as he's apparently done in the past) that Barry is not her soulmate, or "twin flame." Even so, he pushes her to go to the adoption, saying that "someone is definitely coming into (her) life, in a big way."
Peyton and Elena meet at the adoption agency. They briefly speak as Peyton returns Elena's lost keys to her. They exchange business cards after Peyton mentions that she might have use for a photographer (which Elena was prior to marrying Barry).
Peyton's best friend, Wave, drags her to a 'love guru' (Tyler) where Peyton and Elena meet once again. Elena finds out that Peyton is gay as they talk about their marriages. Peyton calls Elena the next day, inquiring if Elena would help her with continuing her mother's Women's Glory Project, and make plans for Elena to visit the next day with her portfolio.
They meet once again, and it's revealed that Peyton's an agoraphobic with substantial difficulties trusting. They bond over the next few weeks - over picnics with Tyler, and late-night glasses of wine. Later, Elena takes better professional photographs of Peyton for her books, and they discuss their upbringings and how they knew they were straight and gay, respectively.
Peyton calls Wave asking for advice on her feelings for Elena, and her friend tells her to be honest with Elena about said feelings, unaware that Elena has some of her own. She visits Peyton later, after being avoided for some time, showing up at her door with the printed photographs. At the unexpected visit, Peyton discloses her feelings to Elena and suggests that they not spend time together. Elena violently rejects that idea, telling Peyton that she's her absolute best friend, that they need to be in each other's lives, and that Peyton can have "all of (her) except for that (meaning physically romantic encounters)." Subsequently, however, Elena begins to rapidly examine her own feelings. Elena calls Peyton after exploring lesbian websites, saying that she's not attracted to them and doesn't think she's a lesbian, leaving the viewer aware that she is attracted to Peyton. This is followed by an uncharacteristically (up to this point) passionate statement from Elena asking if she and Peyton could agree to call her feelings a serious "crush." Her husband walks up in the middle of the call, causing her to quickly end it, which appears even more suspicious.
The following day, Elena comes over to Peyton's house and makes out with her passionately. As time passes, Elena begins wanting more from her relationship with Peyton. She asks Peyton to make love to her; at first Peyton refuses, saying that "once [they] go there, there's no going back." Elena tells her that she doesn't want to go back. As they're making love, Peyton asks Elena to stay with her, though it's unclear whether she means physically or emotionally.
Over the next several days, Elena and Peyton embark on a secret sexual relationship. One morning, they both get into a bit of an inquisition when Peyton asks how Barry comes on to Elena and when and how often they have sex. Elena tells her that they don't have sex anymore, and also tells her that they're going on an annual vacation to Hawaii together. Peyton writes intimate letters to Elena as she's away, and Nash is the one that finds them as he's looking for some aspirin in her suitcase.
The toll of having two partners starts to eat away at Elena, and she begins to get in more fights with both Barry and Peyton. Nash starts stealing and drinking from the stress of keeping Elena's affair with Peyton secret, and ends up getting caught by the police after getting drunk and returning to the store he stole from. When Elena comes back and confronts him about it, he tells her that he knows of her affair with Peyton and she explains (briefly) that she does not intend to stop seeing her.
Elena returns to Tyler out of desperation for answers as to why she's been set on this path, and meets Peyton later and kisses her in the park, oblivious to Millie seeing them together. Millie then calls Barry and tells him about Elena's affair. Peyton tells her that they should probably break up, because of all the complications arising for Elena. Elena insists that they don't, asking Peyton rhetorically if she ever saw a future of them together. They break up and Elena walks off as Millie goes to Barry and tells him about the affair to his face. Elena breaks up with Barry, telling him that Nash needs the real them, not the fighting couple that they've become.
Six months later, Wave and Peyton are taking a walk in the park and run into Tori and Nash, also doing the same. Elena also comes up, walking with Tyler and his wife, Lily. She's now pregnant, and at first Peyton freaks out, thinking that Elena played her and was sleeping with Barry the entire time they were together. Elena faints, and Nash gets Peyton and Elena to talk together at Tyler's house so Elena can explain that she broke up and is getting divorced from Barry, but still wanted a child, to have some hope in her life and that she received IVF with Tyler's 'contribution,' and asks Peyton to try and understand. Peyton apologizes and they kiss.
The movie ends with another of Tyler's picnics with Peyton and Elena together with their infant.
Cast
[edit]- Necar Zadegan as Elena Winters
- Traci Dinwiddie as Peyton Lombard
- Gary Weeks as Barry Winters, Elena's husband
- Sam Harris as Tyler
- Connor Kramme as Nash Winters, Elena's son
- Sabrina Fuster as Tori
- Mary Wells as Wave
- Erin Carufel as Millie
- Heather Howe as Lily
- Skyler Cooper as Jackie
Reception
[edit]The film received mixed reviews. It is rated 58% on Rotten Tomatoes.[2] It received 6.4 out of 10 stars by IMDb.[3]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "3 things to know about lesbian filmmaker Marina Rice Bader | Lesbian News". Lesbian News. July 26, 2016. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
- ^ "Elena Undone (2010)". Rotten Tomatoes.
- ^ "Elena Undone (2010) - IMDb". IMDb. June 25, 2010.
External links
[edit]- Official website Archived 2020-07-21 at the Wayback Machine
- Elena Undone at IMDb
Elena Undone
View on GrokipediaProduction
Development and Writing
Nicole Conn, who gained recognition for directing the 1992 lesbian-themed feature Claire of the Moon, her debut narrative film shot on 35mm, took a hiatus of over ten years from feature-length fiction to focus on family, novel writing, and her documentary little man (2004) about her prematurely born son.[7] This background in exploring intimate female relationships and personal transformation influenced her return to scripted storytelling with Elena Undone, conceived as a project rooted in anecdotal personal experiences rather than broader empirical research.[7] The script originated from Conn's real-life romance with filmmaker Marina Rice Bader, whom she partnered with to co-found Soul Kiss Films specifically to produce Elena Undone and subsequent works.[8] Conn described the story as a "labor of love" compelled by the authenticity of Bader's experiences as a formerly married woman navigating unexpected attraction, prioritizing genuine emotional arcs of awakening and forbidden desire over sensationalism.[9] Development occurred in the late 2000s, aligning with the film's 2010 completion, and emphasized character-driven intimacy drawn directly from these relational dynamics to avoid contrived narratives common in genre films.[8] As an independent venture, Elena Undone was crafted with a focus on low-budget execution and non-commercial appeal, leveraging digital filmmaking advancements for creative freedom unavailable in Conn's earlier 35mm work, while aiming to capture unfiltered relational realism through self-financed elements and collaborative production under Soul Kiss Films.[7][8]Casting and Pre-Production
Necar Zadegan was cast in the lead role of Elena Winters, the pastor's wife grappling with repressed desires, following an audition process where she demonstrated the internal conflict central to the character, as sought by writer-director Nicole Conn.[10] At the time, Zadegan was a relatively unknown actress with limited credits, including guest roles on television series such as 24. Traci Dinwiddie (credited as Thunderbird Dinwiddie in some listings) was selected for the role of Peyton Lombard, the outspoken lesbian writer, leveraging her prior experience in independent films and television appearances like Supernatural.[11] Gary Weeks was cast as Barry Winters, Elena's pastor husband, to embody the archetype of traditional religious authority in the narrative.[11] Pre-production for Elena Undone, handled primarily by Conn through her Soul Kiss Films in association with FilmMcQueen, faced economic constraints typical of low-budget independent cinema, compounded by Conn's decade-long hiatus from narrative features since her 1998 debut Claire of the Moon.[12] [7] Locations were secured in Glendale and Los Angeles, California, to simulate the film's small-town conservative environment, requiring adaptations to urban-suburban settings to evoke the story's isolated, faith-dominated backdrop without extensive travel or sets.[13] Marketing preparations were limited, targeting a niche LGBTQ+ audience via festival circuits rather than broad campaigns, aligning with the film's intimate scale and Conn's focus on authentic storytelling drawn from personal relationships.[3] [8]Filming and Technical Aspects
Principal photography for Elena Undone occurred in 2010, with filming locations primarily in Glendale and Los Angeles, California.[13] These urban and suburban sites facilitated the production's low-budget constraints as an independent feature from Soul Kiss Films.[14] Director Nicole Conn opted for extended, unbroken scenes to convey emotional depth and intimacy, exemplified by a continuous 3-minute-51-second kiss sequence that set a record for duration in cinema.[15] This approach prioritized raw performer interactions over fragmented editing, aligning with the film's total runtime of 111 minutes.[16] The technical execution emphasized a straightforward, unpolished style suited to its indie origins, forgoing high-production gloss to focus on narrative immediacy within the chosen California venues.[17]Synopsis
Elena Undone depicts the story of Elena Winters, a devoted wife to a pastor who publicly opposes homosexuality and mother to a teenage son, residing in a conservative community where she experiences growing discontent in her marriage.[18] The film introduces Peyton, an openly lesbian freelance writer navigating professional ambitions and recent personal losses from a dissolved relationship.[3][18] A chance encounter between Elena and Peyton fosters an initial friendship, which gradually intensifies into mutual romantic tension as they confide in each other amid their respective challenges.[3][19] This developing connection prompts Elena to question her ingrained beliefs, marital vows, and familial role, leading to a profound internal conflict that escalates toward decisive personal reckonings.[18]Cast and Characters
The principal cast of Elena Undone includes Necar Zadegan as Elena Winters, the wife of a pastor and mother who enters into an affair with a woman, prompting her to confront her sexual orientation.[3] [14] Traci Dinwiddie portrays Peyton Lombard, an openly lesbian writer whose interactions with Elena ignite their romantic relationship.[3] [20] Gary Weeks plays Barry Winters, Elena's husband, a pastor who delivers sermons denouncing homosexuality.[14]| Actor | Character | Role Description |
|---|---|---|
| Necar Zadegan | Elena Winters | Devoted pastor's wife and mother exploring her sexuality |
| Traci Dinwiddie | Peyton Lombard | Out lesbian author in a relationship with Elena |
| Gary Weeks | Barry Winters | Elena's husband, an anti-gay marriage pastor |
| Sam Harris | Tyler | Supporting family member |
| Connor Kramme | Nash | The Winters' teenage son |
