---
title: "Mommy"
year: 2014
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/mommy"
fi1m_score: 81
critics_score: 78
critics_reviews: 23
published: "2026-09-16T13:40:44.302433+00:00"
updated: "2026-09-16T13:40:44.568072+00:00"
region: "US"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Mommy (2014)

Directed by Xavier Dolan · 2h 18m · MPA R · Drama

**Fi1m score: 81** · Critics 78 from 23 reviews

*In a sentence:* We would happily spend another afternoon with this mother, preferably while her son is out

> Xavier Dolan’s family melodrama is moving, funny and exhausting, with Anne Dorval superb as a mother struggling to care for her son. We recommend it for the performances, though its 138 minutes include more shouting than it needs.

## Synopsis

In suburban Canada, Diane ‘Die’ Després (Anne Dorval) is a single mother trying to care for her teenage son, Steve O’Connor Després (Antoine Olivier Pilon). Steve has severe ADHD and can be violent; affection does not stop mother and son arguing. Die wants to keep their life together, but his behaviour makes that difficult. Their neighbour Kyla (Suzanne Clément) becomes involved with the pair. The developing friendship offers Die the possibility of help with a son whose demands leave her little space for a life of her own.

## Review

*Mommy* is a moving, often funny family melodrama that becomes tiring when Xavier Dolan refuses to let a scene settle. We recommend it for its three lead performances, and especially for the generosity it extends to a mother whose temper would make her easy to dismiss. Anne Dorval plays Diane ‘Die’ Després, raising a teenage son who can be affectionate and violent. The film asks how she can keep caring for him without surrendering every other part of her life.

Anne Dorval gives Die’s anger enough variety that it does not become a single, exhausting note. Some of it is defensive, some of it impatient, and some of it comes from the effort of trying to manage her son. We were moved by the worry visible in her face during the arguments: she seems frightened of what might happen to him even while she is furious with him. Her humour also keeps Die from becoming merely a collection of hardships.

Antoine Olivier Pilon makes Steve difficult company, as he needs to be, but the violence never quite removes our wish that he might find some peace. There is a risk that his intensity will become the entire performance, and a few stretches get close. Suzanne Clément, playing their neighbour Kyla, gives the film another person worth attending to instead of merely someone to witness the family arguments. The friendship between the three matters because she feels entitled to a life outside their troubles.

André Turpin’s cinematography uses a square, 1:1 frame that keeps our attention on faces and limits the space around them. The restriction makes the arguments uncomfortable to watch, since there is little else in the image to offer relief. It also rewards the small changes in expression that might be lost if we were studying a room. This is an unusually useful piece of conspicuous filmmaking, although its insistence on closeness can become tiring when the drama is already at full volume.

Xavier Dolan also edits, and this is where the film’s impatience with restraint becomes harder to defend. The swings from confrontation to exhilaration are effective at first; repeated across 138 minutes, they begin to make different scenes feel too similar. We sometimes get the force of an argument well before the film is prepared to leave it. The length matters because the performances have already told us how much these people need and hurt one another, without another sustained burst of feeling to confirm it.

The music is credited to Eduardo Noya Schreus, while the prominent rock-ballad soundtrack encourages the film’s appetite for large emotions. Those songs belong comfortably in a drama whose characters are not given to understatement, and we would miss their lack of embarrassment. The slow motion is less consistently persuasive, sometimes asking us to linger on an emotion the actors have already made clear. At such moments the direction gets in the way of performances strong enough to hold the scene without further encouragement.

The family melodrama does not require anyone to behave well, and this one gives its difficult people ample reason to be heard. We would not want their roughness politely corrected for our comfort. The three leads make the prospect of spending time with them attractive despite all the evidence that it will be hard work. Choose it when everyone watching is willing to sit through an argument without reaching for the remote.

*Fi1m score 81, published 16 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics respond warmly to Xavier Dolan’s mother-and-son melodrama, praising its raw feeling and the performances that sustain its emotional extremes. Anne Dorval draws particular praise as the embattled single mother, while the combination of humour, tenderness and conflict gives the heightened drama substance for its admirers. The square frame and shifts in aspect ratio attract considerable attention, with many reviews finding that Dolan’s visual choices bring the characters’ confinement and exhilaration into focus.

The spread of opinion is wide, however, and the same intensity that moves supporters exhausts others. Reservations centre on length, repetitive confrontations and stylistic flourishes that can feel like gimmicks rather than ways into the characters. The Los Angeles Times finds Dorval compelling but the emotional swings immature and wearing; The New Yorker objects more fundamentally, arguing that the outrageous behaviour lacks psychological grounding and that the showy images offer little access to inner life.

### Reviews we read (23)

- **Little White Lies**, David Ehrlich (4/5/5): Dolan comes of age with this ecstatic, aspect ratio-bothering melodrama about a strained mother-son relationship. The film stands out for its raw emotional purity and how the director's style finally aligns perfectly with his characters. [Read](https://lwlies.com/reviews/mommy)
- **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (5/5): Xavier Dolan's best film yet is an outrageous, brilliant black comedy and melodrama about a single mother and her troubled teenage son. The critic praises the tremendous acting, formal inventiveness, and the way the film mixes high-voltage craziness with heartfelt substance. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/mar/19/mommy-xavier-dolan-film-review)
- **IndieWire**, Eric Kohn (90/100, inferred): Dolan's latest is arguably his best film yet, a bold and emotionally raw portrait of a troubled mother-son relationship that showcases his maturing command of melodrama and performance. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/culture/cannes-review-is-xavier-dolans-mommy-his-best-film-26376/)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, Stephen Dalton (90/100, inferred): Dolan's fifth feature strikes a strong balance between style and substance in this character study of a working-class single mother and her damaged teenage son. It is his warmest, most humane and least narcissistic film to date, with force-of-nature performances and visual flair. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/mommy-cannes-review-706363/)
- **The New York Times**, A.O. Scott (90/100, inferred): The critic finds the film a wild, uncompromising cri de coeur that seethes with unchecked feeling yet knows exactly what it is doing. He singles out its square aspect ratio and defiant emotional excess as a willful, beautiful moment of cinematic rule-breaking. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/23/movies/xavier-dolans-mommy-depicts-a-clashing-mother-and-son.html)
- **Variety**, Peter Debruge (90/100, inferred): The critic calls it a funny, heartbreaking and original work that shows Dolan putting himself in his mother’s shoes with a fresh, honest emotional directness. He singles out the unusual 1:1 aspect ratio and the ecstatic celebration of the two lead actresses as standout elements. [Read](https://variety.com/2014/film/festivals/cannes-film-review-xavier-dolans-mommy-1201188655/)
- **Screen Daily** (85/100, inferred): This is an altogether richer, warmer exploration of an intense bond between a mother and a son that unfolds with emotional fireworks and bittersweet reflections on love, friendship and the choices we make in life. Filled with tenderness and compassion, it may well be Dolan’s most accomplished film to date. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/mommy/5072312.article)
- **Empire**, Ian Freer (80/100, inferred): The critic praises the blistering, raw drama built on stellar lead performances, especially Anne Dorval's tour de force as the ballsy single mother, and notes the smart, intimate filmmaking techniques like the square aspect ratio. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/mommy-review/)
- **The Times**, Kate Muir (80/100, inferred): A deeply personal portrait of adolescence and motherhood from a prodigious young talent, taken to operatic heights as an outrageous yet insightful mother-and-son melodrama. It becomes an aching dissection of love amid Canadian suburbia with mental illness and a rock-ballad soundtrack. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/mommy-zg3d6sz5bdt)
- **Time Out**, Dave Calhoun (4/5): Cinema doesn’t come much more exuberant, musical and raw than this tale of a wild teen with severe ADHD and his love-hate relationship with his mother. The heartfelt emotion and belief that there’s no single definition of family stand out amid the crass and bombastic moments. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/mommy)
- **Film Comment**, Eugene Hernandez (70/100, inferred): The piece notes the festival excitement around Dolan's first competition entry and highlights the director's focus on strong maternal figures and the film's narrow 1:1 aspect ratio that confines the viewer's gaze to the characters. [Read](https://www.filmcomment.com/blog/cannes-2014-mommy-xavier-dolan-anne-dorval-suzanne-clement/)
- **The AV Club**, Mike D'Angelo (B-): Mommy is the year's most hyperactive film, driven by combustible performances in a whirlwind mother-son dynamic complicated by a neighbor. The square aspect ratio and relentless intensity are novel but ultimately make the story feel circular and exhausting. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/xavier-dolan-delivers-the-year-s-most-hyperactive-film-1798182171)
- **Slant Magazine**, Chris Cabin (50/100, inferred): Dolan's empathy for marginalized characters receives full visual expression through striking moments and performances, though the film is uneven with overextended scenes and technical gimmickry that sometimes undercuts the emotional rush. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/mommy/)
- **Los Angeles Times**, Robert Abele (45/100, inferred): The critic sees the film as an excessive, unmodulated seesaw of screaming nadirs and total exhilaration that feels raw in the sense of immature rather than unflinching. He singles out Anne Dorval’s compelling maternal ferocity as a glimmer of honesty amid the exhaustion. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-mommy-movie-review-20150123-story.html)
- **The New Yorker**, Richard Brody (40/100, inferred): The review describes the film as a pseudo-transgressive artistic tantrum whose impulsively outrageous behavior lacks psychological basis or access to inner life. It singles out the blandly showy aesthetic that matches the vainly hectic action. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/movies/mommy)
- **HeyUGuys**, Jo-Ann Titmarsh (5/5): The critic praises the film's visual inventiveness, particularly the aspect ratio shifts, and especially the powerful, nuanced performances, above all Anne Dorval's as the fierce mother. [Read](https://www.heyuguys.com/cannes-2014-mommy-review/)
- **The Skinny**, Philip Concannon (★★★★★): Dolan's stylistically bold melodrama impresses with its confidence in delivering euphoric highs and shattering lows, and draws extraordinary performances, especially from Anne Dorval as the embattled single mother. [Read](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/festivals/uk-festivals/film/mommy-xavier-dolan-glasgow-film-festival)
- **The Playlist**, The Playlist Staff (A): The critic hails the film as vibrant and alive thanks to its raw performances, inventive direction, and effective use of music, while noting minor issues with length and a sci-fi prologue. [Read](https://theplaylist.net/cannes-review-xavier-dolans-fd-up-profane-and-amazingly-alive-mommy-20140521/)
- **NME**, Alex Denney (4.5/5): Dolan brings virtuoso style and emotional charge to the story of a mother struggling with her violent, ADHD-afflicted son, with standout praise for Anne Dorval's indomitable central performance and the film's blend of humour, tension and heartbreak. [Read](https://www.nme.com/reviews/reviews-various-artists-15991-317227)
- **Consequence** (80/100, inferred): The review highlights the intentional 1:1 aspect ratio creating suffocation, strong performances especially from Anne Dorval, and explores themes of love's inadequacies, ending with a poignant montage of hope that is both happy and devastating. [Read](https://consequence.net/2015/01/film-review-mommy/)
- **Paste**, Curtis Woloschuk (75/100, inferred): The critic praises Dolan's raw, personal melodrama for its emotional intensity and bravura filmmaking, particularly the use of slow motion and the square aspect ratio to convey constriction. However, it's dazzling yet frustrating, mirroring its volatile mother-son relationship, and ultimately saved by the director's evident love for the material. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/mommy)
- **Eye for Film**, Richard Mowe (60/100, inferred): The review notes Dolan's distinctive style and the strong, emotionally truthful performances but finds the square aspect ratio gimmick irritating and the film overlong. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/mommy-2014-film-review-by-richard-mowe)
- **The Wrap** (30/100, inferred): The film wavers between gritty, poignant drama and a wallow in classist squalor, leaving the critic mostly annoyed despite some emotional pull. The three lead performances stand out as relatable and empathetic amid the director's showier tendencies. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/mommy-review-xavier-dolan-anne-dorval-cannes/)

## Details

- **Director:** Xavier Dolan
- **Director:** Xavier Dolan
- **Screenplay:** Xavier Dolan
- **Cinematography:** André Turpin
- **Editor:** Xavier Dolan
- **Music:** Eduardo Noya Schreus
- **Costume design:** Xavier Dolan, François Barbeau
- **Producer:** Nancy Grant, Xavier Dolan
- **Cast:** Anne Dorval as Diane 'Die' Després; Suzanne Clément as Kyla; Antoine Olivier Pilon as Steve O'Connor Després; Patrick Huard as Paul; Alexandre Goyette as Patrick; Michèle Lituac as Director of Correctional Center; Viviane Pacal as Marthe; Natalie Hamel-Roy as Natacha
- **Runtime:** 2h 18m
- **Certificate (MPA):** R
- **Release (the US):** 23 January 2015
- **Genres:** Drama
- **Budget:** $5 million
- **Box office:** $3 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlZB2LLjzZY

## Where to watch in the US

- Tubi: free, hd, leaving 2026-10-01
- Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, hd
- Apple TV: rent $3.99, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: buy $9.99, hd
- Apple TV: buy $9.99, hd

*Checked 2026-09-16.*

Also available in: AT, AU, BE, BR, CA, CH, CO, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, GB, IE, IT, JP, MX, NL, NO, NZ, SE, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## Awards

- International Submission to the Academy Awards 2015: International Submission to the Academy Awards (nominated)
- Jury Prize 2014: Jury Prize (won)

## If you liked this

- *A Woman Under the Influence* (1974): Another family drama that lets difficult behaviour test the limits of love.
- *The Kid with a Bike* (2011): A child’s anger and need for affection receive patient, unsentimental attention.
- *Secrets & Lies* (1996), Fi1m 88: Family arguments become bearable through performances that keep everyone’s hurt in view. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/secrets-and-lies.md)
- *Nobody Knows* (2004): Children living beyond reliable adult care, observed with patience and mounting concern.
- *All About My Mother* (1999): Mothers and improvised families receive similarly generous treatment, with a different theatrical boldness.

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/mommy