Mommy

Mommy is a very endearing film that shows the rawness of a relationship between a mother and her son. This is one of the best foreign films I have ever seen; not because of the story and the relationship, but for the way it is shot as well. Let’s first start with the direction. Xavier Dolan directs this compelling drama of a mother who gets her son out of a juvenile center and tries to re-kindle their relationship. As they start to bond without a father figure, their neighbor across the street starts to become involved in their life. That’s all I will say, as I want you to experience this emotional journey. I really like the realness between all three characters. It feels like I am watching a real family and their problems. I can become more invested that way if I can relate to the characters and this film nails that. With the tone and direction of this film being top-notch, he also makes the decision to shoot this entire film in 1:1 aspect ratio. This is a ratio equivalent of shooting in on a cellphone. You are probably thinking, “Why would you do that?” Well, I thought the same thing at first, but I got used to it and I saw what Xavier was going for. When you shoot a film in that ratio you get close and a real intimate story; and I believe that’s genius. I realize people can be turned off from that, but I thought it was an absolutely amazing choice from the director. The acting is outstanding and I felt like they were a close-knit family. Anne Dorval plays the mother and her performance is very heartbreaking as she struggles to have a normal relationship with her son, played by Antoine-Olivier Pilon. He also gives a great performance and has a nice character arc towards the end. The cinematography, as stated above, is shot with a warmness and closeness to the entire film. It does surprise with some scenes where the image expands to regular widescreen and that brought a smile to my face. The editing is where my only complaint would be. The film is about two and half hours and in some parts I could feel the drag. It is still an engaging film, but that has to been noted for people that might want to see it. The language spoken is French so there are English subtitles. This is simply a beautiful film with a strong emotional bond and I have been thinking about it ever since I saw it. 9/10
(Review by Chase Lee)