Mommy

Synopsis: Recently widowed Diane aka ‘Die’ (Anne Dorval) is struggling to raise Steve (Antoine-Olivier Pilon) her ADHD affected teenage son who is unpredictable, uncontrollable and, sometimes, violent. But then they encounter Kyla (Suzanne Clément) their mysterious neighbour from across the road and this new relationship offers hope and new possibilities to all three of them.

There’s a wonderful cinematic moment a little over halfway through Mommy, where the teenage boy literally reaches out and stretches the aspect-ratio of the image (which up until now has been in a square format) into widescreen. It’s not an entirely original device (it was used in the pre-credit sequence of Lasse Hallström’s Abba: The Movie in 1977 and more recently in Sam Raimi’s Oz: The Great and Powerful) but here it offers an eloquent visual expression of the emotion of the moment in a way that takes the breath away. It’s one of the many striking and moving moments that make up this intense and dramatic exploration of the extent to which love persists against trial and adversity and, in the extreme, forces us to make hard and difficult decisions.

The film’s director, 26 year old Xavier Dolan, is nothing if not prolific. With Mommy he clocks up his fifth film in six years (following on from I Killed My Mother, 2009, Heartbeats, 2010, Lawrence Anyways, 2012, and Tom At The Farm, 2013) and was winner of the Jury Prize at last year’s Cannes Film Festival.

The three central characters each deliver compelling performances. Dorval is completely believable as the wild, sexy, unconventional but loving mother and Pilon is explosive in his frenetic and, at times, terrifying portrayal of her son, Steve. But it’s Clément as the vulnerable, fragile but potentially dangerous Kyla who shines.

It’s a hard story told by difficult characters and, for the most part, it’s told well. But it’s not without its problems. For me, like with many recent films, the story doesn’t sustain the length of the film, sagging in the middle with too many scenes that cover the same territory. And as strong as the visual metaphor of the pillar-boxed screen image is, as a constant reminder that the characters are trapped and looking for ways to break through to a happier life it eventually grows wearisome. There is also the superfluous conceit of a fictional law that is established at the outset, to provide us with the threat that, in certain circumstances, the state may take Steve away from his mother. It’s an unnecessary detail that takes away from the otherwise authentic drama. And finally, there’s the translation of the elegant French dialogue that feels let down by the overly American vernacular of its subtitles (this may well be intentional, but it still jarred).

The upshot is that despite its three strong performances and its many wonderful, powerful and moving moments, Dolan's  film ultimately ends up feeling somewhat less than the sum of its impressive parts.

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