Mommy is Xavier Dolan’s 5th film since his debut as a film director. Much like his first film, Mommy deals with the difficulties of raising a child as a single mother, which is something that is biographical to Dolan’s life. However, unlike “I Killed My Mother” (J’ai Tué Ma Mère) this latest feature is narrated from the perspective of the mother. It mainly deals with themes such as love, family, youth, motherhood and mental health; something one would not expect from a 25-year-old filmmaker. Nevertheless, Dolan delivers a brilliant film thanks to a strong cast, excellent dialogue and his experience as a filmmaker.
In Mommy, Anne Dorval stars as Diane Després a widowed mother who is responsible for raising Steve (Antoine-Olivier Pilon), her troubled and violent son. When the pair moves into a new neighbourhood, they befriend Kyla (Suzanne Clément), a mysterious neighbour who recently developed a speech impediment. The film opens when Diane is called into the detention centre because her son beat another kid, leaving him with permanent damages. Following this, she loses her job due to the constraints that are put on her because of Steve’s behavioural issues. Mommy follows Diane and Steve as they struggle to surmount various challenges as well as their friendship with Kyla.
Xavier Dolan proves once again why he is one of our generation’s finest filmmakers. As I was watching this film, the first thing that came to my mind was how much Dolan had matured as an artist. Mommy has a lot less stylistic effects than his previous films, and the dialogue is much stronger than it was when he first started writing and directing. Furthermore, as an actor himself, Dolan is capable of getting exactly what he wants from his cast. As a result, Dorval, Pilon and Clément give some of the best performances of the year. When the movie ended, I wanted to watch some of the scenes again just to appreciate the work that was put into the dialogue. Furthermore, Xavier Dolan’s attention to details is remarkable. The use of 1:1 aspect ratio and close up shots gives a sense of unrest to the characters in the film. Almost all aspects of Mommy are impeccable, from the editing to the cinematography and the soundtrack.
After seeing Mommy, I had to take a few hours to reassess the film. I went from loving it to not feeling so hot about it and back to loving it. A few weeks after having seen it for the first time, I am back to loving it. The powerful performances of Dorval and others, coupled with Dolan’s impeccable screenplay make this one of the best film of the year.