MOMMY (2014) – The Review

Over the years film goers have been treated to movies touting the joys of parenthood such as PENNY SERENADE, YOURS, MINE, AND OURS, and, for most of its story, PARENTHOOD. But what about the opposite end of the spectrum, when raising your sibling becomes more than a bit difficult. More harrowing than the comedy slapstick of the PROBLEM CHILD series, but not the melodramatic themes of THE BAD SEED or THE GOOD SON. In his newest film French-Canadian actor/director/writer Xavier Dolan mixes in a touch of futuristic “what if” to shine a spotlight on the struggles of many fractured modern-day families. It’s the tale of the tug-of-war between a violent, troubled teenager and his overwhelmed widowed MOMMY.

A brief prologue printed in white letters on a black screen tells us that we’re now a couple of years in the future after a 2015 change in Canada’s  laws now allows parents to place minors in health care and detention facilities without a legal hearing. Cut to forty-six year-old single parent Diane ‘Die” Desperes (Anne Dorval) at the start of one of the worst days of her life. After a terrible journey she finally arrives at the youth mental health center where her teen son lives. The director informs Die of the cafeteria fire her son set which badly burned a fellow resident, so the guilty boy must be transferred to a detention center. Die will have none of this, so the only option is for her to take him back home. Soon the blond hellion,  fifteen year-old Steven (Antoine-Oliver Pilon) collects his belongings and walks with his mom to the run-down suburban home she has just rented. Die decides that she will home school her son, but when she loses her job at a newspaper, she must seek out new employment (some at-home translation work won’t cut it). One day Die notices the shy redheaded woman living across the street. Befriending her, Die learns that Kyla (Suzanne Clement) is on sabbatical from school teaching, perhaps because of a traumatic incident that left her with a frustrating stutter and caused her to move here with her husband and pre-teen daughter. Maybe Kyla could teach Steven. As the days pass she battles to get through to the boy, while forging a deep friendship with Die. The unlikely duo end up helping each other while working to bring Steven back from the abyss of hopelessness.

This intimate tale comes alive thanks to the superb performances by the trio of gifted actors with Dorval exploring all the complexity of the title role. Her Die goes through life projecting an ultra-tough exterior. While most of her contemporaries sport a short sensible hairstyle along with form-hiding fashions, she adheres to a rock and roll metal vixen look with streaked flowing locks, black fingernails, and ultra-mini skirts. This may be her “flipping the bird” at “Father Time”, but may also be a reaction to being plunged into widowhood at far too young an age. At times it’s a weapon that can be used in order to provide for and protect her precious son. When he’s threatened, Die is as ferocious as a lioness. As the film nears its conclusion, that rock hard exterior is finally chipped away, and Dorval shows us the vulnerable soul beneath all the leather and maschera. Nearly her exact opposite is Clement as the fragile, clearly emotionally damaged Kyla who tries to disappear into the background to no avail. Die sees her, and in a way, rescues her by giving her a challenge. The unconventional neighbors begin to help her break through her own shell in a way her straight-laced hubby won’t attempt (she’s never explains it, but a quick tour of her home drops clues to Kyla’s tragic past). Luckily the quiet mouse unleashes a deafening roar when her buttons are pushed by the wild Steven. Pilon ably tackles this roller coaster of a role. At times Steven is sweet, even charming, and overly affectionate (like a protective suitor of Die), other times endearingly inappropriate causing Die to smile with a twisted sense of pride. But then the coaster descends into darkness. We, along with his shell-shocked mum, are never quite sure what word or action will unleash the beast. In the film’s most disturbing sequence, Pilon is a white-hot ball of fury that thinks nothing of choking the life out of his only parent. In other scenes he tries our patience, while making us wish to embrace and comfort him moment later. Kudos to the young actor for excelling in playing an incredibly complex character.

Dolan has chosen a risky, unconventional way to shoot the film which sets it apart from other domestic dramas. For most of the running time, all of the action is contained in a square frame dead center of the screen, the remaining space in black (let’s hope confused audiences down go running to the lobby or projection booth). Perhaps it’s to make the story more intimate, or to focus in more intently on Die and Steven’s struggles, as though  we’re peering in on them through a tiny window. As if fate has trapped them and is squeezing. This gives the film a look of small snapshots or petite paintings and illustrations. The picture doesn’t open up until well after the midpoint, perhaps to show that the characters have regained hope and are happily embracing all that life offers. Unfortunately the space is soon contracted again. The still youthful director has delivered a film wise beyond his years, shining a bright light on the constant turmoil that too many families encounter. It’s tough, unflinching, and one of the most moving paternal portraits produced for the screen. MOMMY provides no easy solutions, but gives the viewer much to ponder.

4 Out of 5

MOMMY opens everywhere and screens exclusively in the St. Louis area at Landmark’s Plaza Frontenac Cinemas