Laurence Anyways

As a trans woman. Seeing this film made me feel very conflicted. I had high hopes for a film that took trans characters seriously and portrayed them delicately. Sadly, it did anything but.

The first part of the film, when Laurence is pre-transition, is very good at depicting Laurence's inner stress of being perceived as a man, and was very powerful. The problem is that the film never really allows Laurence to transition. The way she is depicted, she remains, as the top review says, "a man who wants to be a woman", never a transgender woman. No real change, physical or psychological, occurs with transitioning, except for minor cosmetic alterations and failed attempts at clothes and makeup. This feeds into the classic trope of the "pathetic transsexual" who is doomed to forever remain a man who fails at womanhood.

Much of the problem lies with the decision to cast a cis male actor as Laurence. Melvile Poupaud does not succeed in portraying a trans woman. No trans woman I know is remotely like this. The lack of realism and sensibility to trans life is especially jarring since Laurence is an intelligent and resourceful character whom would be able to learn to navigate the norms of womanhood. Also, the film moves many years into transition, and even if hormones is mentioned at an early point, they don't seem to have any effect on Laurence except for some supposed breasts.

This type of depiction is dangerous. It feeds into a collective imagination of us as essentially men, which is what makes us susceptible to homophobic violence and lack of access to basic material needs, such as bathrooms and proper healthcare.

ALL THAT BEING SAID, the film is otherwise very good. The cinematography is excellent, the colors, the camera work, the locations, the use of sound and music. Except for Laurence, the acting is great. And the love story, that serves as the main plot of the film, is captivating. All in all, there were many parts of the film I could enjoy and where I felt immersed. And while I felt a deep discomfort with the depiction of Laurence as the film progressed, the early parts of pre- and early transition was relatable and emotional and found resonance with my own trans experiences.

With this film, Xavier Dolan confirms his excellent style. The starring is incredibly well-chosen (distinction for the actress). A photography without mistake, there are numbers of beautiful shots. And too a good soundtrack, that is very eclectic (french's or qubecois's songs, classical's songs as Brahm or Bethoveen, or rock ballads), and first and foremost an original screenplay. In fact, I found the plot very interesting because I don't know film about the transsexualism. For a discovery, we can't dream a better movie.

So, check out his film (Les amours imaginaires, J'ai tué ma mère are too to discover).

A young film maker watch this space. The Quebecois's cinema too.

Fist of all, I should tell ya that I never been excited to watch a movie for a really long time; you know that excitement when you watch the trailer over 10 times in a row. yeah, I got excited this much to watch Laurence Anyways. and as a Xavier Dolan's huge fan that makes me know for sure that this movie is gonna be a pure art. and I don't even really care that much about directors. but DAMN! Xavier Dolan is the perfect man. No, I really mean it. he's gorgeous and talented in so many ways. Although all of the films he directs are about homosexuality, but what the heck! sometimes I hesitate to recommend any of his films to people I know cause I fear they might be narrow minded about all of the homosexuality stuff. Personally, I wouldn't mind watching a Xavier Dolan's film everyday and I'd still enjoy it as if it was the first time I watch it. I killed my mother, heartbeats, and now laurence anyways.

Laurence Anyways is almost 3hrs long. I thought I'd be bored. but somehow, something kept me watching. maybe it's wanting to know how the story ends. or maybe it's the great soundtrack, or the scenes that feed your soul visually. I mean really, why bother going to a photo gallery or a concert or whatsoever when you can simply watch Laurence Anyways or any film of Dolan's, and you'll find everything you love combined together beautifully. maybe I'm just exaggerating but that's because I'm this amazed.

At first, I thought Laurence and his girlfriend weren't' good looking enough, but anyone who watches this film will absolutely fall in love with every single character in the film. and somehow you'll find them extremely beautiful because you just feel their passion and stuff.

When I posted on twitter that I'm so excited to watch it. my friend replied saying, "it's a bold movie." well, I don't know how dirty films like the hangover are okay to watch and a masterpiece like this is "bold"! One thing I noticed about Xavier's Dolan films, is that he tries not to show us nude scenes, cause it ain't pretty. nobody wants to see butts or whatsoever, well, maybe perverts want to, but that's not the point. that is to say, even sex scenes are somehow beautiful and amazing, like the sex scene in 'I killed my mother' with all the painting and the sad sex desperate sex scenes in 'heartbeats'. you can clearly understand what Dolan is implying. In Laurence Anyways, Dolan portrays the relationship between Laurence and his girlfriend as a happy couple who are madly in love with each other, before they gradually collapse. What I'm truing to say here is that Dolan never fails at impressing his audience.

The soundtrack was painfully amazing, as always. the film stats with a song by 'fever ray' which made me realize that Dolan is a fan of this band. yeah? you remember the scene in the woods in 'heartbeats'? No? Okay. I swear if I had to steal one thing from Xavie Dolan it'd be his ipod or iphone or whatsoever. the man has an amazing taste in music.

When I done watching this film, I realized that 3 hours weren't enough. I wouldn't mind if it was 10 hours long or a series with a thousand seasons. it's just pure perfection. you know when you watch a perfect film that is so perfect to the extent that you wouldn't mind if it ends after only 5 minutes or in the middle of it because it's so perfect, and whatever the end is it'd still be great and perfect. yeah, Laurence Anyways is one of those films. and I'm still happy and impressed with the ending scene. the song was oh-my-god amazing. it's like it came into my soul and said hi and settled there. I can never get bored watching the ending scene; so simple yet perfect.

And before I forget, I love the almost 5 seconds Xavier appeared in the party scene. yeah keep it up babes.

In short, Laurence Anyways is 3 hours long, BUT, it's 3 hours of love, joy, regrets, tears, emotions, passion, and XAVIER DOLAN'S PERFECTION. Go watch it! and if you watch it and hate it then I'll hate you back.

Thank you

Coming out as a transsexual proves challenging for a high school teacher in this French Canadian drama directed by Xavier Dolan and starring Melvil Poupaud. He undergoes predictable trouble at work (though curiously from his colleagues - not his pupils who respect his courage) and ends up losing his job. His parents also expectedly reject him and he has trouble dining in public without someone making some comment about his looks. Not so expected though is Poupaud's long term girlfriend's decision to stick with him throughout his ordeal, and Suzanne Clément is superb as the young lady in question who, despite all doubts, claims to still need his "forearms". Set over a ten year period, the couple's relationship is tested at several points but their connection is absolutely undeniable and there is a potent scene in which they encounter another trans couple who claim that "gender is shallow" and it is "the person" who matters. Truer relationship advice may have never been said, but it is to the film's credit that it is does everything to challenge this, highlighting how difficult is for one to achieve happiness in a world full of societal expectations and heavily drilled norms. At nearly three hours long, the film runs a little long and is never quite as intense at it could be. The extra runtime allows Dolan to experiment with some neat stylistically touches though as things fall on the actors in slow motion to the tune of serene music. This in turn gives the film a dreamlike quality - rather fitting for a film about a human being realising his/her dreams beyond gender stereotyping.

I finally watched Laurence Anyways & was not disappointed. The story had truth dripping from every fiber. I'm just blown away by the whole production. Some visually breathtaking scenes that create absolute magic are just the icing on the cake, top notch all the way. The acting was powerful & spot on, not once did I see the actors and not the characters. I'm not familiar with the director but based off of this movie I'm intrigued to look a little deeper.

Laurence Anyways should be destined to become a cult classic once it finds a wider audience, and not just in the gay/trans-gendered community. Calling it a potential cult classic doesn't do it justice though as it has the values of an Oscar contender in my opinion. If the story sounds in the least but interesting to you, you would be doing yourself a huge disservice to let this one pass you by. It's long at over two and a half hours but doesn't drag, it's one of those movies that you hope will never end.

Is this movie Canadian? The credits would suggest so, if it is it's the best Canadian movie I've ever scene (I'm Canadian & have seen more then a few). Don't let that sound like personal bias as I went in not knowing anything about it's production. If this movie doesn't (or hasn't) won awards then there is no justice in the world of cinema.