nikxatz
Mommy is pure cinema.It is a film that speaks a cinematic language and creates genuine feelings to the viewer.
Xavier Dolan, both by his extremely powerful and impressive direction and by his ability to write such a realistic,simple but effective story achieves something that few movies have done:he makes s a part of the film and immerses us in an unforgettable experience.
The film,for its most part, is shot in a 1:1 screen ratio.In this way, it instantly provokes a strong sense of claustrophobia and seems like it has the role of a small camera that moves around the characters' problems and desires.This technique makes the film more realistic and sad.
The movie has a beautiful soundtrack, from "Born to Die" to "Wonderwall".The songs add so much emotion to the scenes and the lyrics really fit to the movie's theme.Mommy is, surprisingly, one of the most well-acted movies of all time.The there actors are masters of their craft give powerful performances.During the movie couldn't distinguish the actor from the character.Moreover, their characters are perfectly developed and totally realistic.The film talks about our desires for a happy life and shows that an ideal life may never be achieved.We have to struggle and try unconditionally.Although it is a depressing film, it manages to deal with themes like love and care in a wonderful way.It is a haunting and magical film.The movie had an incredible impact on me and I can't wait to see it again, despite the fact that I will burst into tears after seeing it.
Rendanlovell
'Mommy' is the fifth film from 26 year old writer/director Xavier Dolan. Who burst into the film making scene with 'Tom at the Farm' and now 'Mommy'. If there is one clear fact about Dolan it's that his films display a sense of maturity and restraint seldom found in directors twice his age. After watching 'Mommy' this is even more clear. It is quite possibly the most raw film from 2015. It follows a mother and her only son. Diane, a widow, has been hardened by lifes constant beatings. And is trying her hardest to raise a son that is prone to aggressive behavior. He throws temper tantrums, breaks things, and is in constant search of a fight. Needless to say, this film is difficult to watch at times. But It's a bold testament to how great a film can be when you have deeply fleshed out characters. Who, at first, seem like very unpleasant people to be around. But just like their across the street neighbor they some how grow on you.Whether it's the awkward dance parties they have or the total lack of social awareness I couldn't say. But one thing is clear, these characters feel undoubtedly real. Dolan has written people that you can not only relate to but feel for as if you stood right beside them in the best, and worst times.Each hard decision they make will send one into a panic as it does the characters. Through all the crap the film puts its characters through it's somehow a magnetic watch. In fact it seems to dare you to take your eyes from the screen. Even for the shortest second used to look away can easily cost you a heart wrenching scene or beautiful moment between mother and son.But all this wouldn't have been possible without this films performances. Each actor involved in 'Mommy' delivers an unflinchingly honest portrayal of their respective character. They are absolutely breathtaking to watch and display superb chemistry between each other.This is all captured by exquisite direction and cinematography. The film is shot mainly in a 1:1 aspect ratio, or a perfect square. This choice helps to elevate the emotional impact of each scene. It creates a claustrophobic and tense atmosphere that is meant to show how the characters are feeling, as if the walls are closing in around them.'Mommy' is a seriously impressive all around film. The direction, cinematography, post work, performances, and script are polished to perfection. And the result is a brilliant, undeniably original piece of cinema. It may have a few minor issues here and there but rarely do they detract from this visceral experience.
lasttimeisaw
Xavier Dolan, Canadian infant terrible's fifth feature, MOMMY is gratifyingly his maturest work to date, won the Jury Prize in Cannes last year, and gutsily challenges our traditional cinema habit by altering the frame to an idiosyncratic 1:1 aspect ratio - bar two exceptions of 16:9 ratio sequences involving a soul-liberating celebration of life and a fanciful imagination of a mother indulging in her proudest moments of his son, which is quite a bravura to pull off, centralises its characters and dramatises their interactions and emotions.Retracing to the central theme of his smash debut I KILLED MY MOTHER (2009, 7/10) at the age of 19, but sans the queer label, MOMMY is concentrated on Diane (Dorval), a middle-aged widow and his teenage son Steve (Pilon), who is diagnosed with ADHD and afflicted with a proclivity of violence and self-abuse, apart from other misconduct in the present Canada. Their intimate mother-son life-pattern has gone through an extensive scrutiny from Dolan's invading camera with a tagline like this - sometimes love cannot save one person, anticipates the finale. They fight and reconcile, confess their love but also swear to each other and even roughhouse, she has to walk on thin ice with him while he is recalcitrant and rebellious.Their volatile relationship has been wondrously balanced out since a new neighbour Kyla (Clément) barges into their life, her first intrusion happens exactly after a most violent incident could ever occurred between mother-and-son. Then the triangle starts to stabilise into a wholesome dynamism, Kyla, a compulsive stutter who claims to be a high school teacher on sabbatical and very evasive about her past, albeit she lives across the street with her husband and a young daughter. A semi-friend-semi-family liaison is luxuriantly budding between Kyla and the family, she home-schools Steve so that Diane can earn some extra money as a house cleaner, life is not easy, but all of them feel content and optimistic, they dance, bike/skateboarding, prepare food and dine together, here is when the first 16:9 ratio sequence exuberantly inserted literally by Steve extending the screen on his skateboard.When Diane receives a citation from court, due to a previous wrongdoing of Steve, which demands a great sum of compensation, the screen retreats back to the square frame, life is just a winding road, a tentative plan to befriend with their lawyer neighbour Paul (Huard), who has always been flirtatious towards Diane, goes awry thanks to the uncooperative Steve. Strife emerges again and after Steve's unsuccessful suicidal attempt (or just a way to raise attention and state his point, since who with a firm intent to die will cut his wrist in a packed supermarket?), Diane must make the most difficult decision after she ravishingly envisions a perfect future for Steve, the gorgeous-looking 16:9 section accompanied by Ludovico Einaudi's sublime EXPERIENCE is the long-waited high point of this intensive drama, Dolan's usual tricks - slow-motion, soft focus, close-up - are all consummately deployed in a fantasy we could only wish would be true for our protagonists. Not too soon we are sucked back to the grim reality, staring at the square again, a coercive separation, a heartrending goodbye and the ambiguous/unambiguous ending (Lana Del Rey's BORN TO DIE is the closing credit melody), after all, it is not a film for those faint-hearted.Within this close-knit cast, Dolan successfully sheds his pompous swagger to be overtly impressive and ostentatious which is often associated with a devil-may-care resolution among young filmmakers, and has trespassed the threshold of intolerance in HEARTBEATS (2010), my least favourite among his 5 features, instead, he patiently teases out the top-notch chemistry among his three main players, calculated in minute precision. Dorval, is utterly majestic to personify a stimulating mother image poles apart from I KILLED MY MOTHER, Diane has an uncouth and kitsch temperament which she cannot hide, then it materialises that it is a useful approach to communicate with her equally bad-mouthed son, but her unconditional love to Steve, sincere affinity with Kyla, and a strong faith in hope (the poor man's luxury), all marks her as a remarkable and vivid human being out of Dorval's outstanding dedication. Clément, another muse of Dolan, comes to the fore in her more introvert characteristic to hide her secret (a dead son in her past only fleetingly implied but never actually revealed), Kyla's stutter is a convenient barometer of her emotional state and Clément is amazing to the hilt. As for the newcomer Pilon, his Stevie is a spitfire with explosive fierceness, a nightmare to any parenthood, with fitful charisma on the verge of dissipation at any minute due to inappropriate external stimulation, it is a prime casting choice and he chalks up a grandstanding presence.From Sarah McLachlan, Dido, Counting Crows, Oasis, Lana Del Rey to Andrea Bocelli until the national treasure Celine Dion, etc. MOMMY's soundtrack is an ear-worm hits collection, measures up to Dolan's eclectic taste in music, emblazons the youthfulness and urbanization in his filmic tack, better than lighting up the mood, it coherently indicates the progression of diegesis which will continue to be one of Dolan's trademarks. Finally, MOMMY positively attests that a prodigy can survive the inevitable backlash and hopefully evolve into a bonafide maestro, Dolan's future cannot be brighter in this regard.