É Apenas o Fim do Mundo

This is the latest film from Xavier Dolan who continues to surprise with his very human stories. This time he has gone for an 'A list' of French talent. The story is from the stage play of the same name and is about Louis (Gaspard Ulliel 'A Very Long Engagement') who is a successful writer; he has not been home for twelve years and has now only returned to announce that he is dying – but he does not know how to do it.

On arrival at his home he is met by his family, mother, older brother and much younger sister. His brother, Antoine, played by Vincent Cassel is a man who seems to have got more than his fair share of life's anger but has married a shy creature – Catherine – played by Marion Cotillard in a way that she owns the role, it is completely convincing. The whole day is played out in linear format as the characters stumble into each other always seeming to be on the edge of imploding.

This is not an easy to watch movie as the tension can be uncomfortable but that makes it a better film for it. This is real 'Arthouse' in that it takes a different path to many that have gone before and is becoming a welcomed trademark of Xavier Dolan.

If you liked any of his previous films then you are probably already sold on this, if you are new to him then switch off any expectations and let this film seep into your psyche, it will be worth the effort.

More like a stage play than a movie, about an extremely unlikable family. I wouldn't want to spend more than one minute in the company of any of them. All they do is shout at each other. I'm not surprised that Louis never visited them. Whether you watch this to the end or not depends on your tolerance for screaming idiots. My advice is ... don't.

b.r.i.l.l.i.a.n.t! I saw this movie at TIFF on Sept. 17 and it was the first Dolan film I've seen. It deserves the award it received at Cannes! Despite all the shouting and intensity, this film conveys with subtlety, suggestive dialogue and glances, the range of emotions felt by different members of a family when there has been an unexplained loss of another family member. Even though the main character, Louis, is still alive and returns to the family, they react as if he has returned from an unexpected death. They range from guilt, rage, idealization, and denial.The close-up filming style also reveals each family member's pain in intimate detail. Dolan is brilliant in his interpretation of that family's deep pain and Louis's coming to terms with not only his own impending death but the "death" the family already has had to deal with when he went away the first time.

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.