French-Canadian prodigy Xavier Dolan’s fifth feature (he’s still in his mid-20s) is an occasionally histrionic but heartfelt account of a single mom, Die (Anne Dorval), struggling to deal with her sweet but volatile son, Steve (Antoine Olivier Pilon), whose ADHD wreaks havoc on their suburban life. Excluded from education after setting fire to a cafeteria, Steve requires home schooling, so Die turns to reclusive neighbour Kyla (Suzanne Clément) to revive the teaching skills from which she is “on sabbatical”. Hemmed in by financial pressures, and each differently outcast from society, the misfit trio begin to form an alternative family unit, the potential despair of their individual situations somehow vaporising in the company of their collective hope.
Framed for the most part in a claustrophobically boxy 5:4 ratio that echoes the confining strictures of their lives (financial, social, emotional), Mommy’s scope widens at key moments in a manner that is jubilant, joyous and expansive; you feel a weight lifting off your chest as Steve first forces the frame wide open, the movie exhaling as he exclaims “I’m free!” Elsewhere, the too-tight living quarters of the drama are bathed in an unexpectedly affectionate light, warm red and orange hues keeping the cloudy greys and browns of kitchen-sink “realism” at bay.
Dorval and Clément (with whom Dolan first worked on his debut feature I Killed My Mother) are both exceptional, their brilliantly controlled performances contrasting with the explosive energy of rising star Pilon, who looks set to burst out of the screen and into the auditorium. Occasionally, the mixtape musical choices – Dido, Celine Dion, Oasis – strike a (deliberately?) bum bombastic note, understatement being in short supply when it comes to the soundtrack. But with emotions as raw as these it’s unsurprising that everything should be turned up to 11, leaving your head, heart and ears ringing.
