Plot
A widowed single mother, raising her violent son alone, finds new hope when a mysterious neighbor inserts herself into their household.

Release Year: 2014

Rating: 8.3/10 (5,679 voted)

Critic's Score: 79/100

Director: Xavier Dolan

Stars: Anne Dorval, Antoine-Olivier Pilon, Suzanne Clément

Storyline
Forty-six year old Diane Després - "Die" - has been widowed for three years. Considered white trash by many, Die does whatever she needs, including strutting her body in front of male employers who will look, to make an honest living. That bread-winning ability is affected when she makes the decision to remove her only offspring, fifteen year old Steve Després, from her previously imposed institutionalization, one step below juvenile detention. She institutionalized him shortly following her husband's death due to Steve's attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and his violent outbursts. He was just kicked out of the latest in a long line of facilities for setting fire to the cafeteria, in turn injuring another boy. She made this decision to deinstitutionalize him as she didn't like the alternative, sending him into more restrictive juvenile detention from which he would probably never be rehabilitated. However, with this deinstitutionalization, she has to take care of him ...

Cast:
Anne Dorval - Diane 'Die' Després
Antoine-Olivier Pilon - Steve O'Connor Després
Suzanne Clément - Kyla
Patrick Huard - Paul
Alexandre Goyette - Patrick
Michèle Lituac - Directrice du centre
Isabelle Nélisse - Fille de Kyla
Pierre-Yves Cardinal - Gardien de sécurité #1
Viviane Pascal - Marthe
Natalie Hamel-Roy - Natacha
Vincent Fafard - Joueur de pool

Country: Canada

Language: French, English

Release Date: 23 January 2015

Filming Locations: Chambly, Québec, Canada

Technical Specs

Runtime: 139 min

Trivia:
Official submission of Canada to the 87th Academy Awards foreign film award. See more »

Quotes:

Author:

Rating: 10/10

I just saw the movie, couple of hours ago, and I'm still speechless. It's rare to watch a movie as real as this one. Ultimately, the first 20 minutes into the movie, I could not help myself but thinking about «I Killed My Mother«, especially with the dialogue between the mother and her son. But soon into the movie, I quickly forgot the comparison (both the mom and the son are obviously way different than the ones portrayed in «I Killed My Mother«).

It grips you like no other movie. The 3 characters shown to us are as real and touching as they can get. The layers of their past, the mystery of why they are who they are, you just can't watch the movie... you get involved with them, you want to know everything about them... The way Dolan directed the actors, the fine dialogue and all the things that remains unsaid, it's all in the actors' faces.

The directing, the cinematography, the music, all this blends together so well, it's almost as if these people really exist. The relationship between all 3 is unique, almost unexplained and controversial.

This movie will probably be hard to watch for any single mother out there with similar situation... or if you have someone in your family or friends having this kind of life, ultimately, you will think about them. Nobody feels sorry for their lives, nobody is making excuses... it's as real as it can be. Ordinary people. Troubled kid. Troubled mother. Troubled neighbour.

There are so many scenes in the movie that were pure cinematic joy. The lighting, the subtle camera angles, the claustrophobic atmosphere, the surreal acting... so much stuff that only directors would dream to do. Xavier Dolan has a gift that any 25 year old would only just fantasize about. He makes it real. His vision, his involvement, everything works.

This movie will probably be hard to understand for anyone speaking French outside Canada, subtitles will be required. This is as Quebecois as it can get. This is us. This is our language. So many local expressions and local slang throughout the movie, I just hope people watching it with subtitles will still understand the passionate dialogue, the passionate characters.

Oh and the music. The pop songs that Xavier chose for the movie are simply amazing and each song has a meaning with the scene in it. From Sarah McLachlan, Oasis, Celine Dion, Andrea Bocelli, Lana del Rey, Counting Crows and probably others I'm forgetting, some key scenes relate directly with the lyrics of the songs. Beautifully done.

This is a movie not to be missed for any cinephiles out there, the best work from Dolan yet, a step further into the mastering of his craft.

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