Having enjoyed Xavier Dolan's Heartbeats, I thought I would give I Killed My Mother, his debut, a go. I had found his second film, although very enjoyable, it was heavily influenced by Y Tu Mama Tabien and The Dreamers. I was expecting similar with this effort. Was I mistaken! I would have thought IKMM was the second film as it was a lot more confident, visually stunning and high in originality.
This film tells the story of Hubert (also played by Dolan) and the difficult relationship he has with his single mother (Anne Dorval). Him, an arty, gay 16 year old, is constantly on the war path with his vulgar, but well meaning, mother, who is struggling to fulfil her role as a single parent. He wants to be independent from the mother's nest and she wants her four year old son back. Day-by-day they are constantly arguing and results him being sent to boarding school.
The relationship between the two leads is an exceptional piece of character acting. It is reminiscent of arguments I have had with my mother when I was a similar age. Dolan plays Hubert as the selfish son who is prone to tantrums, especially when he does not get his way. Dorval is phenomenal as the struggling mother, who may not be the best mother in the world but she clearly loves her son. Just by looking at her eyes you can see the hurt when Hubert tells her that he hates her is so deep. The chemistry between the two characters is amazing and is up there as one of the best performances of recent memory.
Not only is Dolan talented as the leading male, his direction is superb. From beautiful forest shots to the scene where he paints the office Jackson Pollack style, the film is driven by beauty. The viewer is constantly amazed by what is presented visually and it always fits the mood of the film perfectly.
What makes this film even more amazing is that Dolan is 22 years old and directed this film when he was 20. Part of me is jealous of his talent and his career progression and part of me wants to marry him for his genius. Had I watched this without knowing anything about Dolan or seeing Heartbeats, I would still be just as impressed. Nothing was done wrong. To put this in context, it took Pedro Almodovar years to get exceptional, Dolan has done it in his first film. It really is no surprise that it received an 8 minute standing ovation at Cannes.
There have been a number of decent French-Canadian films of late, including C.R.A.Z.Y. and Incendies (which should have won the Foreign Language Oscar!). Dolan's work is leading the way and Quebec is becoming one of my favourite 'countries' for film production.
This film is meant to be semi autobiographical. Pictures of James Dean in his boyfriend's room probably represent Dolan's love of film from an early age. I just hope he has not given his best at the start of his career.
5/5 - An exceptional debut
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