Mommy

A powerful well-acted and brilliantly directed film which may never reach the audience it deserves ... and that is because of the "elephant in the room."

Some auteurs, possessed of a single vision, will "paint" their story against an unusual backdrop to make it stronger. That backdrop can be anything from the emptiness of space, to the time of a past world war, to an imaginary future to a village in a country that never existed.

Such is the magic of film.

MOMMY uses the backdrop of French Canada. In its own way, with its own unique history, as exclusive and remote location as the one Sandra Bullock found herself in when her shuttle was damaged.

Everything about the film deserves attention, even the bizarre use of an exceptionally tight Aspect Ratio -- other reviewers have heaped praise on this bizarre affectation, but the TRUTH is that audiences around the globe will be on the phone with Tech Support 3 minutes after the credits roll, trying to figure out what just happened to their $5k home theatre system...?

The film is not only shot in French Canada but is one of the only so-called "mass appeal" films from Quebec to unleash that unusual Quebec dialect to the max (a dialect so obscure that even tourists from Paris France have trouble with it) and actually parade it, like a badge of honor, from scene to scene.

And therein lies the agony and the ecstasy.

As the earlier reviews show, Canadians in particular will look (listen?) past this and patiently seek the cinematic rewards therein. For them this is not a problem -- they have been trained to do this from birth, it is now part of their DNA.

Viewers from other parts of the globe may not be as forgiving, however, and this creates both paradox and dissonance. And limits the ambit of the film's true audience.

Which is a pity. Quel dommage.

In a Montreal suburb, a single mother with financial and employment difficulties reunites with her violent teenage son who is being released from a detention centre. More chaos ensues.

It would be very tempting to call this film a "kitchen sink drama". There are many explosive scenes which are cathartic. Most films would have only a few such scenes, maybe only one at the climactic finale. While the catharsis might seem too much, every one of those scenes works well because of the great talent of director Xavier Dolan and his equally talented cast.

There are thankfully lighter scenes that show the love in the dysfunctional family and their ability to have fun especially as they are joined by a mysterious neighbour across the street, Kyla, who seems to have her own troubles. Her troubles seem lessened as she bonds with the unusual mother-son duo. Kyla's situation seems a bit too mysterious at times. As a subplot, it could have used a few hints to tap viewers further into the reasons why she prefers the family across the street to her own.

The film's greatest strengths are two scenes near the end. One is the perfectly executed climactic scene. The other is the one that follows - a very melancholy scene of transition with which most viewers could sadly identify.

As mentioned, Dolan has directed a superb cast. As the troubled teenager, Antoine Olivier Pilon has the perfect balance of rage and vulnerability. As the neighbour Kyla, Suzanne Clément is very believable as someone facing change and loosening up especially when she has fits of uncontrollable laughter. As the mother, Anne Dorval gives Dolan another superb performance as she did with "I Killed My Mother" (2009). Her range in the final two pivotal scenes display true brilliance. - dbamateurcritic

RATING: 9/10

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT: Performance by Anne Dorval

People who know Xavier Dolan know what they're walking into when they buy a ticket for Mommy. While he has a loyal fanbase that seems to grow more passionate about him by each film, some don't like him at all. This is my first of his films and I can immediately see the case for both sides. However, as Mommy is being called his most mature work yet, I take pause to imagine how infantile his previous films are as this has its moments of worrisome juvenility, though the 'mature' moments have a gutsy weight. At only 25 years old and on his 5th film in as many years, there's a cathartic energy to the way he approaches cinema that is quite refreshing to see. He throws everything at the wall and sees what sticks. Some of it does, but I regret to say, much of it doesn't, and what falls off drags the film down.

Frequent headliner for Dolan's previous films and having starred in 4 of the 5, Mommy stars Anne Dorval as the titular character Diane 'Die' Despres, in a whirlwind performance of tantalizing vigor and sensitivity. She's a widowed single mother who takes her thuggish son Steve, played by Antoine-Olivier Pilon, back home after his time runs out at a delinquent center due to an incident where he caused another boy to be seriously burned. Arguments in their house always escalate to the point of violence, but they find solace in bonding with their stuttering but kind-hearted (with a lioness bouncing inside) neighbor Kyla, enticingly played by Suzanne Clement, who begins to tutor Steve so he can have the potential for a future.

Immediately you can feel Dolan's hand ready to sculpt the film beyond reason. It begins as an unnecessary fantasy set next year with a fictional law to serve the plot. Perhaps it needs this disconnection from reality. It's wired with high-strung melodrama that escalates outrageously. Granted, that is the point of the film, that a little spark can ignite a forest fire, but it crosses a line where it ceases to be involving or convincing, and nor is it darkly comical. At first it's difficult to invest in the film, the characters are so unlikeable and unsympathetic, victims of their own tempers and ignorance. Dorval wins you over handedly, channeling Marisa Tomei better than Tomei herself. She's grounded enough to make the drama work. However, Pilon overdoes the irritation to the point where you sincerely don't wish him to succeed and that's a major problem with the performance and the way Dolan treats him. It's unbearably obnoxious.

But when it's finally toned down in the tense calms before or after the storm, it's really great. It's thoroughly embroiling, enrapturing and heart-breaking drama, or a complete joy depending on the scene. That's the flipside of a film that's heightened to 11 on either end of the scale. It was constantly losing me and winning me back. Eventually, the losses were weaker and the wins were stronger. Sometimes the stylistic indulgences were enjoyable and added to the tone. Otherwise they disrupt the flow of the film entirely, with the use of slow motion, out of focus shots and unnecessary interludes of music videos. Those of which were poorly chosen iconic tracks that I can't tell whether Dolan actually knows how done to death and unsalvageable the Dido and Oasis songs are for instance. He exercises zero restraint – but he does not care. There's somewhat of a charm to his contrarianism.

What's most fascinating about the film and what particularly sets it apart given the familiarity of this type of melodrama is the aspect ratio. It's boxed in at an unusual 1:1, imprisoning the characters so they feel crushed by the weight of the stresses of their personalities and consequences of their actions. It occasionally breaks free of it when hope floods back into their lives. It's an incredibly expressive way to use the space of a frame, much more emotional than the intellectual way Wes Anderson did it this year for The Grand Budapest Hotel. As such with a melodrama, the cinematography is vibrant with alluring colour, making good use of that voyeuristic box we watch the story from. Fortunately, when Mommy hits the sweet spot, it's utterly overwhelming. Dorval is the only consistent aspect in an unashamedly bloated, indulgent and messy film. It could be too polarizing to be a serious contender for the Foreign Language Film Oscar, but a nomination remains to be seen.

7/10

Read more @ The Awards Circuit (http://www.awardscircuit.com/)

The movie 'Mommy' written and directed by Xavier Dolan takes place in an alternate version of Canada where any parent has the option to rid themselves of their troublesome children by sending them to an institution. One of the movies main characters Diane Després finds herself in exactly that situation when her son Steve who has ADHD gets out of a youth detention center. Immediately Diane is presented with the option to send Steve away, but his undying love for his mother paired with her own stubbornness and pride stops her from making such a drastic decision. Right from the start this unique family seems to be heading into a disaster but things change when a mysterious neighbour inserts herself into the lives of Diana and Steve.

The concept of a mother struggling with a troublesome child is not all that unique, and even though this movie has quite a few interesting story elements up its sleeve, at its core it still is a film about a dysfunctional family that has been told many times before. That is not to say that this movie is as mundane as possible since the manner the story is presented in is anything but generic. Characters are extremely well defined and never seem to say or make any decisions which one could consider inconsistent with their usual behavior. The exposition necessary to set up these characters is masterfully woven into the dialogue. The movie never really goes out of its way to tell the viewer something about the characters and instead lets it happen naturally throughout its runtime.

What makes the characters even better are the amazing actors portraying them. The actress Anna Dorval does an excellent job at showing the human side of Diane. Often times when her character is either laughing or crying it comes off as genuine so genuine in fact that it is not hard to forget that you're watching a movie and not a documentary. Even when her character is not speaking it is quite clear that internally she is struggling with the decision to send her son away in order to live a normal life. This struggle also resonates within the viewer via Antione-Olivier Pilon's portrayal of Steve. There is always a noticeable sense of built up frustration and when his violent nature paired with his ADHD sends him on a tantrum his anger seems real and almost scary at times. Afterwards there is always a small sense of regret when he sees the fear he induced into his mother. The mysterious neighbour Kyla is not as on the forefront as Steve or Diane as she is more of an introvert. That is not to say that this character is very forgetful as Suzanne Clément, the actress behind Kyla, masterfully shows that there is more to her character than first meets the eye. Every performance on its own was very good, but what's even better is the way the director shows the relationship they have with one another. As a family, albeit a dysfunctional one, Steve and Diane really come off as one that probably exists somewhere in this world and the interplay between them and Kyla is also very believable.

Almost the entire movie is filmed with an aspect ratio of 1:1. Characters are literally locked up in a little box in the same way as they are locked up in a lifestyle they cannot get out of. Instead of it being a gimmick this feature almost comes off as its own character. Because of this small frame in a lot of scenes there really is only one character that appears on the screen at any given time. This really puts the emotions being portrayed at the forefront and further enhances the already great acting performances. As a viewer the small frame made me feel as if I myself was cramped into a little box. When things are looking up for Steve and Diane the frame widens and when the characters finally get their breath of fresh air the viewer experiences the same as they are finally able to escape from that little box they were trapped in. This aspect ratio does have its side effects though as it comes at the cost of the quality of some of the set-up shots. Some were still fairly well done however, but others probably would have turned out a lot better if it had been done in a regular aspect ratio. This is just a minor thing though as it really does not matter in the grand scheme of things.

What the movie also does not do well is the pace in which the story is told. The movie slows down tremendously just halfway through its runtime and again just before it reaches its ending point. These moments don't last long however as they are over just before the viewer would lose interest but the movie in its entirety would probably have benefited a lot if a good twenty minutes was scraped of its 139 minute runtime. All in all 'Mommy' is an extremely solid movie with great acting performances at its forefront. Xavier Dolan's incredible use of the aspect ratio provides a unique cinematic experience that is absolutely worth the watch.

My rating: 8/10

Anne Dorval is far and away the best actress I have had the pleasure to watch in the past couple years. She was solid in J'ai tuer ma mere. She is explosive in Mommy! I haven't written a review yet but her performance encouraged me to do so. Antoine-Olivier Pilon was great, and Suzanne Clement was also top notch.

I've never been so deeply affected by a movie. I went back and forth between laughter and tears throughout the entire movie. There were several scenes that I related to....

Something that really resonated with me was the scenes where the 3 main characters were laughing, dancing, enjoying life. I personally have a hard time remembering the moments in my life where I was truly happy. I believe that is because in those moments I was so deeply immersed in conversation and laughter that my brain was incapable of creating a memory. While watching Mommy I wasn't able to remember those moments in my life but I was able to make the connection because the performances and script were so realistic. Thank you Xavier Dolan! Waiting for more...