Tom à la ferme

A tense, beautifully shot & directed homo-erotic psychosexual thriller - Tom At The Farm is both intensely gripping, unnerving & disturbing - unlike anything Xavier Dolan had done before (or since) throughout his filmography... Utterly unique in comparison to the rest - the venture in to such unfamiliar territory resulted in a surprisingly effective & impressive movie well worth a watch from audiences who've previously admired his other work.

This film tells the story of a man, called Tom, who pays an unannounced visit to his late boyfriend's farm in a small town in Quebec. He meets the brother who is violent and widely feared by the whole town. Yet, Tom is attracted to danger and stays at the farm.

This story is really captivating. It has so many subtle clues as to what the psychologically disturbed characters are thinking, which explain their behaviour. It drives viewers to think deeply about the reasons for their seemingly inexplicable behaviour, which is engaging and thrilling. Tom is clearly very attracted to being abused, and his psychological state is portrayed vividly by the film. There are some really dangerous moments in the film, making it thrilling. I really enjoyed watching "Tom at the Farm", and I look forward to watching other films by the same director.

We distinctively perceive the characteristic atmosphere of Xavier Dolan's films: all the characters are on edge or even disturbed, and this dark and sensual film is made with a hyper sensitivity and a keen sense of photography.

First at all, Agathe is a mother who mourns her younger son died recently, and seems to understand the whole topic (undisclosed although you do not have to be a genius to intuit it) but represses her feelings and intuitions. Then Sarah a female blonde as hot as lost, and Francis, a farmer who is sexually attracted by Sarah (who would not be?) and hides himself behind a homophobic shell. Right in the middle of this bloody mess, Tom acts, contrary to appearances, like a temporary keystone, the whole microcosm gravitating around him. Although Tom is systematically delicate and cautious, especially with Agathe and even with Francis, in this farm, there is definitely a before and an after Tom, like a bull in a china shop, like a vault without its keystone.

A must see.

I've recently seen "Tom à la ferme", and it's safe to say that Xavier Dolan is one of the most important directors alive today. With just 25 years, he has proved to have the maturity and intelligence to make amazing films, which are not only magical in their visual aspect, but in the depth of their screenplays as well.

Having said this, "Tom á la ferme" is no exception. Great movie, wonderful to see, and a very interesting story which is, as always, about love. However, every time Dolan shows us his vision of love, he does it in a very different way. This time is about a lost love, and the submissive aspect of it. Brilliant performances as always, all taking place in a very gloomy farm, the authorial work of Xavier Dolan just keeps getting better, so my advice: let's pay attention to this wonderful filmmaker.

This film succeeds in pulling off what "Stranger By The Lake" totally failed to do. The darkness draws you in and intrigues us, and the characters are brilliantly acted and engaging.

Some of the editing is slightly strange, or perhaps the narrative would be a better way to describe it, i.e. there are a couple of transitions between scenes where I found I was having to piece things together arbitrarily, in my opinion, meaning I had to concentrate hard. However I'd much rather this than everything being spelled out in children's building blocks as is the way with many American films.

This is one of the few "gay" films I've seen that had hardly anything superficial and stereotypical about it, and wasn't depressing to watch as a gay man.

Hats off to the guy who played the crazy brother: dark and scary, but the homoerotic tones and suppressed desires sound through his silence, creating a fascinating villain, again, something which the aforementioned other French-language gay thriller completely failed to do, managing only to be faintly embarrassing and ridiculous.