MOMMY (2014)

STEVE: We still love each other, right?

DIANE: That's what we're best at, buddy.

Hello everyone! I'm back with only a one week delay, which was about to turn to two if I didn't force myself to sit down to write. It's not that I lost interest in this blog (god, no!) , it's because I work all week and Saturdays are my only days off, so I tend to procrastinate writing even though I know I'll feel x10 better when I click on that publish button. Anyway, this week I decided not to be lazy, so to sum up this useless opening paragraph, welcome to this week's post! It's also the first post of the month, so be sure to expect some super exciting (I really can't stop thinking about it) news later this month! I'll give more details about it next week!

For this week, I picked another Xavier Dolan film, a feature that is less controversial and definitely more touching: Mommy. To read my previous post about Dolan's other film, you can quickly click here! 

Mommy tells the spiky relationship between a "violent" teen Steve and his charismatic but disorganised mom, Diane. Being used to Dolan's stylish storytelling in his movies, I wasn't completely blown away by the fact that he used a square ratio for his film - which was almost every reporter's question to Dolan back in the day along with "Why are you obsessed with moms?" 

This complex yet tender mother-son relationship is a recurring theme in his films, so at this point it's important to mention that Dolan's mom had a big impact on his life (therefore his works too) by raising him as a single mother. His troubled childhood also shows some parallelity with the film, so we can say that Mommy is an autobiographical work in Dolan's filmography along with I Killed My Mother - which will feature in my blog one day, too!

To talk about the characters, let's start with Diane, an unconventional and affectionate mom that reminded me so much of The Florida Project's Halley. If you've seen the movie, then you probably know what I'm talking about. Just like Halley, Diane doesn’t raise his child in a traditional way, yet the nature of their relationship seems affectionate and real. Diane and Steve constantly throw insults back and forth to each other, which eventually creates an odd sense of familiarity to the audience throughout the film. Even though how much profanity and violence the movie contains, “soft” and “tender” are still the words I (and the majority of the audience) associate with the film. 

Of course, Dolan must have been affected by his own mother to construct this brilliant character, but I should also highlight that he doesn’t exactly describe his mother as Diane according to this interview.

Moving on with Steve who challenges social norms by living his life to the fullest. Just as Diane puts it, there is “not a dull moment with Steve” ,because he’d throw eggs at cars while riding a shopping cart at full speed or put on makeup and dance to Celine Dion. The moments where Steve doesn’t behave like his true self are very prominent in the film, because his shining personality is at the very center of the film.

Mommy was truly an unforgettable cinematic piece that will keep my mind occupied for a while. Even now, when I'm writing these sentences, some scenes replay in my head and I have the sudden urge to see the movie all over again - which I can't, because I have work to do :'D. 

You should watch this movie if you haven't, and if you have, then you should probably see it once more. Very few movies I've seen gave me an experience like Mommy has, it was a beautiful reminder why I keep cinema so close to my heart. 

Thanks for reading this far, and you're always welcome to write a comment below or send me your suggestions to: moviesatdawn@gmail.com! You can also check out my Instagram, Twitter, and Tumblr; all with the same nickname moviesatdawn. Thanks a million for being here and I'll see you next week!

Xavier Dolan: "Movies are forever. It's like a painting done thousands of years ago, still there."

Next post: Titane (2021) dir. Julia Ducournau