Xavier Dolan is worth watching for his actors and his sympathy for difficult people. Mommy makes the case for both, though his fondness for prolonging an argument can make an evening with him exhausting.
Fi1m perspective
In Mommy (2014), the square frame leaves a mother and son little room to get away from one another. Anne Dorval’s Diane ‘Die’ Després has to care for a teenager capable of affection and violence while trying to preserve a life of her own. Dolan gives her temper plenty of attention without treating it as a reason to stop caring about her. That generosity is why we recommend the film, even when its arguments go on too long.
Dolan has kept returning to family conflict since his debut, I Killed My Mother (2009). Laurence Anyways (2012) broadened his attention to transgender identity and long-term relationships, while Tom at the Farm (2013) made a distinct turn towards the psychological thriller. The latter was adapted from a play, as was the family-reunion drama It’s Only the End of the World (2016). Changing genres has not removed his taste for bringing relatives together and letting them quarrel.
Working with collaborators including cinematographer André Turpin, Dolan favours close-ups and cramped domestic spaces. Those choices suit the confrontations, but in Mommy it is Dorval who makes them matter. We were moved by her performance because Die’s anger never makes her care for her son seem less real. There is humour in the film, too, and Dolan does not need to make this mother agreeable before allowing us to enjoy her company.
He is less reliable as his own editor. In Mommy, the switches from confrontation to exhilaration work at first, then grow repetitive across 138 minutes. We often understand the hurt and need between these people well before he lets a scene end. Another sustained burst of feeling adds little once the actors have already made the point. Start with Mommy for Dorval, on an evening when a quiet film is not required.
Biography
Xavier Dolan is a Canadian filmmaker, screenwriter, producer, editor, actor and costume designer. Born in Montreal in 1989, he began his career as a child actor in commercials and television before making his feature directorial debut with I Killed My Mother (2009), which he also wrote, produced and starred in. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival's Directors' Fortnight section.
Dolan has written and directed eight feature films since 2009, most of which premiered at Cannes. His credits on Mommy (2014) include director, writer, producer, editor and costume designer; the film won the Jury Prize at Cannes. Other notable works include Heartbeats (2010), Laurence Anyways (2012), Tom at the Farm (2013), It's Only the End of the World (2016, Grand Prix at Cannes) and Matthias & Maxime (2019). He has also directed music videos, including for Adele, and acted in films by other directors such as Boy Erased (2018) and It Chapter Two (2019). Dolan has received numerous awards, including several Canadian Screen Awards and César Awards.
