By Michael Colford
Rating: 2.8 cats
Director: Xavier Dolan
Starring: Amara Karan | Ben Schnetzer | Chris Zylka | Emily Hampshire | Jacob Tremblay | Jared Keeso | Kathy Bates | Kit Harington | Michael Gambon | Natalie Portman | Susan Sarandon | Thandie Newton
Country: canada, united_kingdom
Year: 2019
Running time: 123
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4042818/reference
Michael says: “Ah, where do I start with the work of Xavier Dolan. His first film, I KILLED MY MOTHER, was a tour de force for me. A beautiful, emotional story, and an audacious and artistic feature directorial debut. Dolan earned Chlotrudis nominations in the Best Movie, Director, and Screenplay categories. HEARTBEATS retained the visual mastery of the cinematic medium, but it was a far less compelling script, and suffered from sophomore slump. His third feature, LAURENCE ANYWAYS, was a very personal story with an epic scope… perhaps too epic, and while visually stunning, and emotionally powerful, it felt a little like Xavier needed someone telling him where to pull back (or at minimum, to hire someone else to edit his work). It still got a Chlotrudis nod in the Buried Treasure category. TOM AT THE FARM was next, and for me, it was a bit of a miss. Dolan ventures in genre territory, while still trying to hang on to some of his themes, and it just didn’t work. Then came MOMMY, which was magnificent, yet still flawed… almost reaching the heights of his debut, largely in part due to the amazing actresses that led the production. It was nominated for Chlotrudis Awards in the Best Movie and Best Supporting Actress categories, and won the Best Actress award for Anne Dorval. Somehow I missed his 2016 film, IT’S ONLY THE END OF THE WORLD, which I will have to rectify very soon.
And that brings us to his latest American release, 2018’s THE DEATH AND LIFE OF JOHN F. DONOVAN. It’s also his first English language film with some big hame Hollywood Actors such as Natalie Portman, Thandie Newton, Kathy Bates, and Susan Sarandon. It’s also nearly a return to the creative heights of his first film… perhaps matching or even surpassing them. I’m often skeptical when I start watching one of Xavier’s films; I’m not sure why. I expect them to be enjoyable, but I also expect them to be a little self-indulgent, or overblown. But by the film’s closing credits, I was openly weeping and feeling giddy with the excitement that finishing a great movie stirs up in me.
“There’s so much to say about DONOVAN. Plotwise, it focuses on a young man, Rupert Turner, who as a young boy, is moved by his single mother from his home in the State to London, where his creative ways, and desire to become an actor puts him at odds with the other boys in his class. He inexplicably begins a correspondence with a 30-year-old actor, John F. Donovan, who became a major celebrity when he was cast as a lead in a CW-style TV series called “Hellsome High.” This story is told by an adult Rupert, who has published a book of their correspondence after Donovan has died of an overdose. He tells the story of how their lives became so enmeshed despite never having met in person, to a cynical journalist, Audrey Newhouse, who usually covers political conflicts, and is annoyed at having to do this interview. As Rupert and John’s stories unfold she begins to see how sometime intimate, personal stories can have as much significance as political warfare.
“As a mature filmmaker, (it is, after all, his 7th feature even though he’s only 30-years-old) Dolan hones a unique talent in making his screenplays and films in a grand Hollywood style, with lush productions, slightly pedantic stories (at least superficially), and in this case, recognizable, big-name actors. Yet no Hollywood film would focus so intimately on the themes that Dolan chooses to focus on, in this case, themes that he clearly knows a lot about: being gay, celebrity, and that oft-repeated mother-son relationship. I marveled as the story unfolded at how complex, and rich these stories became, when first they just seemed either repetitive or formulaic. Sure, there are a few recognizable tropes — the super-popular celebrity with a secret life, the single mom struggling with raising a strong-willed son, but there is so much love and caring infused in Dolan’s film, and so much thoughtful examination of character that even as I type this, I love the film more and more. I’m particularly enamored of the way he writes his women… so very complex, so very heroic (even if they’re not always strong), and particularly his mothers. It was more than three-quarters of the way through when I realized the central mother-son relationship was as important to this story as it was. And Natalie Portman, as Sam Turner — Rupert’s Mom, gave it a thoughtful and powerful performance. One more relationship I need to mention was the beautiful interactions between Donovan and his brother, Jim. A scene in Jim’s garage, when John comes to discuss some his burgeoning and dangerous emotions is beautiful written, and a scene towards the end, when the two join together to sing a Lifehouse song in the bathroom is such an honest expression of brotherly love.
“There were several other notable performances I feel I must mention. Kit Harington (apparently a “Game of Thrones” star) subtly and emotionally delivered the title character without falling into melodrama or caricature. The pain and loneliness as his life starts to crumble is conveyed with a look, or a facial tic. His actions, while sometimes disappointing, were never difficult to understand. Looking at his resume, I’m really glad he took a chance with this role. I’ve always been a fan to Thandie Newton’s, and she brought an intelligence and a maturity that made our journalist’s sudden shift from cynical annoyance, to something else believable and lovely. Kathy Bates is another one who always comes through, and her role as Donovan’s manager starts off pretty much as you’d expect, but when things take a turn for the worse in Donovan’s career, Bates’ monologue is beautifully delivered. Amara Karan brings a lovely realism to Rupert’s harried elementary school teacher that illuminated her small role. Other notable actors include Sarandon as Donovan’s mom, who probably drinks too much and says the wrong thing often; Emily Hampshire (“Schitt’s Creek’s” Stevie), nearly unrecognizable as Donovan’s actress-wife, and Jacob Tremblay, as young Rupert, best known for his major role in ROOM from a few year’s back. There are more great characters and actors who played them, so Best Ensemble is a definite nomination from me, along with several others.
“I don’t know if I’m overselling this film, but it really touched me… maybe even a little profoundly, from a creative point-of-view. I highly, highly recommend you see it, especially if you enjoyed any of Dolan’s earlier films. And if you’re not familiar with his work, this would be a great one to start with. 5 cats”
Available on Amazon Prime.
(And I didn’t even know I was going to rate it that highly until I just typed it.)
Beth C. says: “I know what Xavier Dolan is capable of, and this ain’t it. ½ a cat”
Julie says: “Beth was right. I would say this is Xavier at his worst. Xavier’s work is typically superb so he’s set high expectations for himself. I’d give this between 2.75 or 3 cat rating tops. I was too long as critics have mentioned and it lacked in every aspect.
“Oddly there were some fantastic actors in very roles. I loved Kathy Bates in her tiny role. I did love the last scene Susan Sarandon was in. She was great in that entire scene and I loved the lighting and filming of that overall and at the end in particular. She was great in that closing shot. It was true Xavier style and the best shot/scene of the entire movie with lots of heartfelt emotion in that one look of hers. In fact, Susan Sarandon deserves nomination consideration. There are a lot of good female supportings this year but I think she has to be in my list. Small perfs by the teacher Amara Karan and man in diner Michael Gambon were also very good. As to the larger roles, Jacob Tremblay who played Rupert Turner, (the little boy) was great. I will nominate him as well.
“I have never seen Kit Harrington before (never watched ‘Game of Thrones’) but I was thinking how much better Christopher Abbott would have been.
“The rest of the characters were just not genuine or somehow did not click well together. Not even Natalie Portman! That hair! It was a bit much and unbelievable! Thandie Newton and Ben Schnetzer (Rupert at 21) also did not really work for me up until the very end where I did like both of their perfs for a fleeting moment.
“I also found his use of music didn’t work. While I used to love that song Bittersweet Symphony by the Verve, it didn’t work so well in the movie and was not time appropriate either in that I believe it played in the present day scene versus 2000’s scenes.
“He has floored me with his use of music in the past(playing things I’ve never heard before but loved and that fit the scenes and emotions of the scenes so well), so this was very disappointing.
“I feel Xavier had to throw everything in but the kitchen sink in this one and it didn’t work well.”