É Apenas o Fim do Mundo

Most of the critics did not like this movie. Their argument was that it had a great and promising cast, but that the combination didn't add up to much..a disappointment they said. Well, I do not agree at all. And after having seen "Mommy" I was convinced that the director couldn't have spoiled things going forward..if anything, he was even getting better. This is one of those movies that whispers something to you without you even knowing. A whisper about a dysfunctional family, wrong timing, memories trapped halfway between your throat and your mouth..Words left unsaid, and meanwhile, everyone eats, everyone smokes, lunch and dessert..white wine Not red. Old Home and the new.. An airport, a cup of coffee and a magazine. A song, a dance while the protagonist is standing outside looking inside himself while everyone is looking at him and staring, wondering why is he here and trying to read what he hasn't even written yet..They are all wondering whether he has the right to show up just like that after 12 years away from them. But isn't he the writer after all, the one with the burden..and the one with the choice? Should he or should he not? say something.. and why can't he leave just like he entered ...without disturbing the order of things. If only there was someone in the crowd who is able to understand his whisper, his slow gestures and his silent scream that keeps reverberating inside..and time strikes again and again. someone lifts him up under a gigantic blue sky. "Let's go for a drive". A drive down memory lane, a drive inside a family's heart, mind and soul. A highly emotional and daring movie, tensed, real, so real that it will take your breath away more than once. Highly recommended for its authenticity, great cast, pace, music, cinematography and the well deserved Jury Prize in Cannes 2016.

I think it's beautiful when creators explain more in shadows and silences than in dialogue and obvious visual cues. There is true brilliance to be found in the hidden and the unsaid; oftentimes, the truth comes in subtle ripples than in galvanized waves, and it's exceptional to come across true masters of the craft who are willing to respectfully handle such an intricate technique without becoming dull and overbearing.

Regrettably, such is not the case here.

Dolan tries to sweep us off our feet with anthropocentric framing and a flowing stream of ethereal brushings of color and emotion, something he does well, I can't deny him that. In the meanwhile though, he seems to be neglecting the actual plot which is painfully lacking on so many points, this movie is rendered into nothing more than a neophyte's attempt at a college- level, arthousy project.

Fortunate that the entirety of the cast is strong enough to redeem this effort by generously depositing spiritful performances, thankfully seeming to overcome the dire facts that the writing is listless, the plot is dormant, and the whole movie seems painfully mannered and conditional. So much so, that the viewer is bound to be left confused and, at times, attacked by the drip-fed, self-folding, monotonous interactions that ultimately serve to dress the movie with no pragmatic value at all.

In aiming for elegance and allure, Dolan fails to dish out a well-founded, coherent film, leaving us with nothing more than an unprogressive fable that tiptoes along the verge of deforming from 'suspended' to 'backwards'. And all very chaotically wrapped in out-of-place musical choices, not enhancing but rather debasing the scenes, pulling the viewer out of the experience in flabbergasted eye-rolls.

My point of view: Overlooking the feeble dialogue, overall repetitiveness, plot stagnancy and forced emotive filming techniques, I rather enjoyed the performances -- and here is where I rate this. It's Only The End of the World is a lifeless attempt, devoid of any true passion and it could have very easily broken down into oblivion the moment the end titles started rolling - if it weren't for Vincent Cassel's very last scene which, yet again, validates him as one of the Greats.

Lucky for me I will always have that to remember.

The story is familiar. because the portrait of dysfunctional family is not rare in the cinema of last decades. but the film has a fundamental virtue - it is a Xavier Dolan work. and that change everything. because not the conflicts, vulnerabilities, isolation, angry and fears, the return of the son are the basic aspects. but the precise and not comfortable image of loneliness. using admirable cinematography. the right actors. the close up. the forceof silence. the small gestures and shadows of memories. the admirable cold dialogues. and the last part as ideal building for a search who becomes out of target. a film who impress. not only for artistic value. but for remarkable science to present the things who are out of us being inside us. frustrations, intentions, the desire to be far by the other who could represent only the stranger. who is just an accident. so, a beautiful Xavier Dolan.

Critics shouldn't be criticizing films they don't understand. Xavier Dolan's movies are extremely subtle in their acting and dialogues which I think makes it more difficult for non-French speakers to understand. This is especially true for this film since the movie is based upon the impossibility to communicate. That's probably why most of the bad reviews come from American newspapers. I mean, I'm French and I honestly admire non-French speaking fans of Dolan because subtitles aren't enough to communicate the subtlety of each word and tone. Aside from that it's only a matter of taste.

I agree on the fact that some characters are a bit stereotyped, especially during the scenes in which the whole family is gathered. However each actor has a scene in which they speak in private with Louis and that's when their characters get interesting. The film is aesthetically brilliant and allows you to understand things only eyes can communicate. The movie constantly creates an emotional tension, something I've rarely felt.

Somehow even worse than your run-of-the-mill terrible movies. "Waterworld" and "Catwoman" are basically benign. Xavier Dolan, with his big name cast, his pretensions of art-house cinematography, his maudlin dialogue, and his iMovie sound mixing, really insults the moviegoers. He thinks we'll eat up this kind of crap-- and, if Cannes is any indicator, we totally have.

I really think that the only real pleasure anyone can derive from watching this Lifetime-Movie-knockoff of a film is by turning around in your seat and watching everyone try to maintain the 'studious cinephile' straight face while watching a slow-motion tear fall from Vincent Cassel's eye. There's also a winning bit with the "Numa Numa" song played over images of children frolicking through a field at dusk. Nostalgia.