Indie Gems: I Killed My Mother
And you thought your teenager was angsty.
Hubert (Xavier Dolan, who also wrote and directed this) is a selfish, angry teen who is almost obsessed with his hatred of his vain mother. (Anne Dorval) It seems to consume his thoughts and his solutions for said hatred are never feasible.
This film was very interesting. I watched it with my teenage niece, and she found herself agreeing with Hubert on most things, where as I tended to side with his mother. I kind of had to laugh about it afterwards. She thought the mother was wrong for telling Hubert she'd consider about letting him move into his own apartment (he's 16) and I told her Hubert was stupid for even thinking that his mom would actually allow it. It made for an interesting discussion, because neither of these characters are likable, yet I was still glued to my screen the entire time.
Dolan was a teenager when he made this semi-autobiographical film, and that in itself is impressive. He could've made himself look better and his mother to look like a real villain, but he didn't. He kept it raw and unapologetic. The imagery is beautiful and he gives a very convincing performance. This is one director I'm looking forward to seeing more of. Judging by this one, he's got a bright future ahead of him.
Grade: B
Memorable Quote: "I'd die tomorrow." - Chantale (Anne Dorval)
OMG!!! Dolan is one of my absolute favorite voices in film, but you know that from all the gushing on my blog. Heartbeats is remarkably beautiful (like a gay/modern take on Jules et Jim) and Laurence Anyways is, as I've mentioned, one of the ten greatest movies of all time.
ReplyDeleteI hate that distribution of his films is so botched. This film, for example, was originally released overseas in 2010, but we didn't get to see it until last year. Looks like his Cannes hit Mother actually has a US distributor and will most likely hit the states early next year, but sadly Tom at the Farm is still without a US release date, and that was released last year as well!
Glad you liked this. This is his most uneven work, for me, but as you said...it shows SO MUCH promise.
I saw that when I researched this film a bit, it really did go through distribution hell. I look forward to Laurence Anyways. I think I'm going to watch it some time this week!
DeleteYAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
DeleteI am impressed that, as a teen, he could write a raw, unapologetic film that gives viewers a balanced understanding of his fictional alter ego and his mother. I don't think I had that kind of mature, balanced perspective at that age.
ReplyDeleteThis film sounds very interesting, and I suspect it's something my own angsty teen daughter would enjoy. :-) I'm adding it to my list.
No kidding, sometimes I wondered how I formed coherent anything as a teen. I was just angry 24/7.
DeleteHa! I started to put it on my Instant Queue and found my daughter had already added it.
ReplyDeleteYou both have good taste. :)
Deleteooooh this sounds good. thanks for the rec!
ReplyDeleteAny time! :) Netflix Instant!
DeleteXavier Dolan is one of those filmmakers I really need to check out as I want to see this and all of his films.
ReplyDeleteHe seems to have a great filmography for someone so young, so far. I'm looking forward to watching more!
DeleteSounds interesting! I wonder how would I perceive this film. Hmm. Will watch as soon as I can!
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to hear what you think!
DeleteI'm a fan of Laurence Anyways and Heartbeats, but I still haven't seen this one yet. Hopefully, I'll get to check it out soon. :)
ReplyDeleteI started watching Laurence Anyways on my phone, then I stopped because I felt it deserved my TV instead.
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