My Review of It's Only The End Of The World (2016)

Written And Directed by Xavier Dolan 

Martine (to Louis): "I don't understand you. But I love you. I love you. No one will take that away from me."

Six movies into this director and I've encountered one that didn't quite click as it should've. It's a bit of a shame but I guess it was inevitable. On paper, the idea was good. The execution just didn't come together as well as previous efforts have done.

Focusing on a playwright named Louis (Gaspard Ulliel), we got to see him return home to his family after twelve years and it's a very tension filled reunion. Along with the distance of time since last seeing them, Louis's also hiding the fact that he's got a terminal illness.

Louis's family included his mother, Martine (Nathalie Baye), younger sister Suzanne (Léa Seydoux) as well as older brother, Antoine (Vincent Cassel) and thd latter's wife, Catherine (Marion Cotillard). Louis got to have moments where he would have individual conversations with each of them.

Catherine made the effort to try and fill Louis in on her family life with Antoine but the latter was convinced that Louis had no interest in their lives. Throughout the entire, Antoine was completely hostile towards his younger brother.

There's fraught moments with Suzanne and Martine as Louis tried to reconcile with both of them. An entire family lunch started off well but descended into chaos. Wanting to see an old family home brought up a lot of bad feelings for everyone.

The last few moments are brutal and frustrating. Louis never came clean to his family about having a terminal illness and his last memory of them was Antoine trying to physically assault him. It's a very nihilistic ending to the movie that didn't sit well with me.

- The movie's based on the 1990 play by Jean-Luc Lagarce. It had a French only cast this time around. Louis had a lover named Pierre, who had died.

- Since the movie's release, both Gaspard Ulliel and Nathalie Baye have sadly passed away.

- Standout music: Camille's Home Is Where It Hurts.

- Chronology: Takes place known only as "Somewhere" but was filmed where Dolan films his movies in general.

It's Only The End Of The World had a great idea and I'll credit Xavier Dolan for trying to adapt a complex play. It's just his weakest film so far, in spite of a great lead performance from Gaspard Ulliel.

Rating: 6 out of 10