Jul 11, 2015 One of the defining films of our generation and a rare cinematic experience that works purely on a level of raw emotion. What do you guys think? Do you like it? Should it be part of the canon?
Jul 11, 2015 Two masterpieces back to back. edit: three Mommy would probably crack my top five of the decade so far. It's stunning how Dolan shows the bleak nature of Dorval and Pilon's relationship while still finding moments of incredible beauty to keep the film from spiraling into negativity. He chooses to explore the bad along with the good, and these experiences the characters go through on both sides of the emotional spectrum hit more harder than they typically would because of it. No matter how dark or intense it got, there was always an aura of positivity reached through the music, aspect ratio, and Dolan's direction which puts it on a completely different level from most of the films that tread familiar ground. Would be #1 of 2014 if it wasn't for Boyhood.
Jul 11, 2015 Easily a yes. Like @Pinhead, would also be my #1 of 2014 if wasn't for Boyhood (or Ming-Liang's Journey to the West if it counts), and defs a top film of the decade if not the 2000s.
Jul 11, 2015 This year has been bad for me, i havent seen the amount of films i normally see. So, i'm ashamed to say i haven't seen Mommy
Jul 11, 2015 Has there ever been a director as good as Dolan this early on? He's easily the best millenial that I can think of. That said, I kind of liked Heartbeats more that Mommy and haven't seen Laurence Anyways yet. He probably hasn't even made his best film yet. I'll vote yes on this, but I expect it to replaced by his future work if he keeps this trajectory. That's saying a lot. Edit: Jesus, I was thinking of I Killed My Mother. Definitely need to catch up soon if I ever will.
Jul 11, 2015 I'm not as in love with this film as a lot of you are, but it's still pretty undeniable. Dolan's an excellent young director and this is pretty easily his best work.
Jul 11, 2015 This is, in my opinion, the best cinematic sequence since the Everytime scene in Spring Breakers.
Jul 11, 2015 I guess I'll be the contrarian who votes "No". While I do like Mommy a lot (it's hard not to get caught up in the film's sheer energy), I can't say I was as emotionally involved with it as I was with Laurence Anyways, despite Mommy's stellar performances. I certainly wouldn't bat an eye or complain if Mommy is considered canon in the future or if it tops "Best of the Decade" lists in 5 years, but for me personally, it's just short of classic status.
Jul 12, 2015 Mommy Dir. Xavier Dolan A revelation in modern filmmaking, Mommy displays innovation, courage, and audacity. The fifth feature film by the Quebecois wunderkind Xavier Dolan is easily his best feature to date. At merely 25 years old, Dolan has created his first masterpiece. Mommy (dir. Xavier Dolan) With most of the film taking a 1:1 aspect ration, the film expresses a concept I will call perennial nostalgia. The aspect ratio is akin to first generation cell-phones, an image form which clearly inspired Dolan in the filmmaking process. Mommy, a film dealing with memory, the past, and nostalgia, uses the 1:1 ratio to give a sense of immediate appreciation of the past. In modern life, we choose to capture important moments with our cell-phone cameras. We immediately look at the photo and thereby feel nostalgic for a moment gone but which literally just happened. With each moment being a passing one, Dolan captures the idea of photographing and thus memorizing a moment in history, through film. A few times in the film the aspect ratio switches to widescreen. In these periods, which is first realized in a glorious shot of Steve (Antoine-Olivier Pilon) literally pulling the screen wide, Dolan captures moments being lived. During these periods, one a montage of a projected future, the characters are seen enjoying life and living in the moment rather than in the past. During the exceptionally edited montage sequence of the future—you might call this the present—the camera spins as faces fade into darkness. This technique expresses the phenomenon of a fading memory. A moment once lived might be incredibly affirming in the present but becomes blurred in the past. A photograph remains a present instance of the past. Is it better then to live in the past? To live through image? Mommy is beautifully shot with many gorgeous sequences of sun-kissed lighting, slow motion, and harmonically rhythmic music. Long shots and slow zooms open and close space while door frames often encase the characters within a frame similar to the frame of a photograph. With Mommy, Dolan is revolutionizing film form. Frankly, I’ve never quite seen a film like it. Could Dolan be the new Godard?
Jul 12, 2015 Lol, well I guess you turned out a prophet. To you Mommy is that "best film he hasn't even made yet". Dope ish, get on it!
Jul 12, 2015 Okay, so I've had the day to collect my thoughts a bit. First off, Dolan used the aspect ratio really well most of the time. Close ups work better in heavy moments (as a general rule of thumb), the box aspect ratio encourages them and that works for a director whose films are full of drama/melodrama. He found some natural square shots in the environment as well using windows, hallways, store aisles etc. I do think the screen prying open to emphasize the emotional state of the characters was a bit tacky. Another "artschool film major" type thing that's been present in all of his movies. He really rides the line for me in that respect. Oppositely, I thought his take on "idealism through expressionism" was used perfectly (which leads me to believe the opening shot was after locking up her son totally redefining the moment). A Dolan film starting with exposition like it's Children of Men was perplexing to me. Seemed rather easy to write around that, but instead he alters the universe? Again, his youth showing I think. Dolan stays in his comfort zone on this one tackling a lot of the same conflict from I Killed My Mother. While I like directors to have through lines spanning their career, this feels more like a revisitation than an evolution of ideas he's toyed with before. That said, his films work for me emotionally so I don't mind. I think that's most important for enjoying his work. I'm invested in his characters as soon as they hit the screen. His choice in music was something I got right away and was confirmed in one of his interviews. The opening song made me think "this is something my mom would listen to" and sure enough that's what's happening. The characters are chosing the music, not the director. A lot of nonmillenials might cringe at the 90s nostalgia but I think it works great. My biggest gripe was him skimping on the rap Steve was clearly listening to while longboarding. He's used it before in Heartbeats, so I don't know why he felt the need to give him some sappy guitar instead. "Did the main character just turn into Xavier Dolan?" was the worst part of the film. Almost Tarantino level sized ego at that point. The soft focus idealism was probably the highlight of it for me. That and Kyla (who deserved more resolution). I have a lot more to say and stew about but these are some initial thoughts.
Jul 13, 2015 What does this mean? Is that a quote? ps. Close ups make a moment heavy glad you watched it bro
Jul 13, 2015 In the dream sequence when Xavier Dolan plays the older version of the main character? The fade in the rain was pretty seemless but it was so jarring and needless a role for him. Sure, but similarly a close up on a nonheavy moment can feel out of place. Just saying this type of aspect ratio isn't for everyone.
Jul 13, 2015 I thought you were referring to one of Dorval's lines mentioning how short Steve was. IMDB is your friend.
Jul 13, 2015 Agreed, but it's because the camera makes heavy a moment that doesn't deserve it. I guess my point is that the camera's effect is above the plot's moment, as camera is affective and immediate and content is found afterwards. Yea, not Dolan bud lol. I loved that scene btw... a film about nostalgia and our generation's obsession with the camera expressed in the blurring of identities and forgotten moments. Shot like a memory but in fact conveying a possible future. By the way, I don't personally think it's a dream, I think it's Steve's real future. Dolan simply works backwards by using memory as a way of sensing and treasuring the future rather than the past. And in doing so he treasures the past even more because it's what led to that almost fantasy like future where the turbulent relationships have matured. In this way I think it shows Dolan's obvious development since I Killed My Mother, in that the first film is much of a pissed off 19 year old expressing himself and Mommy is a now relatively mature 24/25 year old reflecting, accepting, and in a way forgiving his mother by treating that character with more respect. I Killed... is a son's film, and Mommy is a mother's. They are yin and yang. And Dolan needed to grow to find the alternate perspective more acutely... enough to film it. EDIT: @Vahn got me rethinking my interpretation of it being a real projected future, so I gotta rewatch before I can stick to anything. Planning on a rewatch soon anyways. I saw it only once and during VIFF craziness, so a pleasant independent viewing is in store for me
