My Review of Mommy (2014)

 

Written And Directed by Xavier Dolan 

Steve: "We still love each other, right?"

Die: "That's what we're best at, buddy."

I'm back on my Xavier Dolan catch up and oh look, it's another movie that delved into the theme of mother's and sons. After I Killed My Mother, what else could he possibly say on the matter?

If this movie was anything to go, apparently a lot. In this film you've got Diane "Die" Després (Anne Dorval), an advice columnist and widow with a volatile son named Steve (Antoine Olivier Pilon). Let's just say their whole relationship was dysfunctional as fuck to watch.

Steve's got a history of violent outbursts and Die's no better as she physically lashed out at him during one particularly heated confrontation early in the movie. In a lot of ways, it did feel like she was enabling her son's worst impulses.

Then there's the neighbour, Kyla (Suzanne Clément). She had a husband and daughter of her own but she lost a son and she ended up being pulled into Die and Steve's orbit. There's a moment in the movie where I thought her interactions with Steve were going to seriously cross a certain line but it didn't. I was a bit relieved about that.

As the movie went along, Kyla seemed to be like a second mother (or substitute father) for Steve. That was something that Die almost seemed to encourage given the time the three were all spending with one another. Then there was Steve's attempts to take his life during a trip to the supermarket.

The movie did a good job of showing Die running out of options in order to help her son. Having him committed was the only one she had left. There's something devastating about her being all alone with Steve incarcerated and Kyla opting to move to Toronto. As for the final scene with Steve, that was certainly a way to end things.

- S-14 allowed low income families to have loved ones placed in hospitals without regard for fundamental justice. Steve has ADHD and an attachment disorder.

- There's a rather aspect ratio used for this film that took a little getting used to.

- Standout music: Counting Crows Colorblind, Ludovico Einaudi's Experience and Lana Del Rey's Born To Die.

- Chronology: Set in 2015, depicting a fictional outcome of the Canadian federal election.

Mommy (2014) continued a popular theme in Xavier Dolan's work and arguably in a darker manner than his debut film. It's a very strong film with three very compelling central performances and no easy answers given to the volatile mother/son relationship at the heart of it.

Rating: 8 out of 10