Mommy arrives on DVD on April 28 from Lionsgate Home Entertainment.
It’s often with trepidation you approach a festival favorite. Sometimes expectations are raised too high or sometimes you cannot quite figure out what the audience had been smoking to enjoy a feature so much. Mommy lands on home video this week after garnering much praise, notably being selected to compete for the Palme d’Or at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, where it went on to win the Jury Prize as well as winning the César Award for Best Foreign Film and being the official Best Foreign Film submission of Canada for the 87th Academy Awards.
The film tells of a young teenager Steve (Antoine Olivier Pilon). Diagnosed with ADHD amidst a host of other behavioral issues he is in the process of being released from a juvenile care facility to the care of his mother (Anne Dorval) who acts like anything but. The two have a relationship verging on the self-destructive, fueling each others wilder impulses. Her own needs to feel young and attractive pushing their relationship into unhealthy territory. Drawn into the mix is their neighbor Kyla (Suzanne Clément) who has left her job as a teacher after suffering a nervous breakdown and withdrew from her life to the seclusion of her home. Together the trio form a close relationship where they seem to bring out the best and quell the worst in each other.
Mommy falls somewhere you would expect a Harmony Korine/Mike Leigh collaboration to end up. A heartfelt melodrama with a black comedic streak and a distinct style. The three core actors all do fantastic work, their rapport undeniable. Each dancing around their own emotional traumas and each other. The real standout is Pilon though. A handsome, charming young man who switches suddenly into a foul mouthed ball of anger. Whatever mood he’s in, you can’t help but be engrossed in his performance. There is a charm about these flawed people that makes the trashy offensive humor more palatable. At times tender, others brutally raw, Mommy is an accomplished take on the teen angst drama.
Xavier Dolan show a remarkable confidence behind the camera at the age of 26 and with Mommy as only his fifth feature. He brings a visual flourish that perfectly complements the narrative and raw energy of the story and performances. He cleverly makes use of a 1:1 camera ratio for much of the film, adding to the trapped and confused feelings of Steve but breaking into widescreen as emotions soar into a more joyous mood. Coupled are some bizarre, frenetic choices for the soundtrack including Dido, Oasis and Celine Dion, and you are hit with a cacophony of sounds, visuals and emotions that leave you shaken up. With so much going on the film sometimes does get a bit messy, but isn’t that how we all remember our teenage years anyway?
Mommy is a well crafted and inventive film that and uses the camera and soundtrack as well as a trio of actors to chronicle an intense tale of growing up and the relationships and times therein that veer between the sorrowful and the joyous. A memorable release, despite the lack of any extras, and one well worth checking out.