Dolan Ups the Ante in Mommy

OK, this is yet another spectacular offering from the precocious Xavier Dolan, filmmaker in Montreal.  Anne Dorval stars as a single parent (Diane Despres), opposite young Steve (Antoine-Olivier Pilon), who suffers from ADHD (Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) and is a "cutter."  As in Laurence Anyways the dialog is explosive.  An angel face with the temper of a grizzly bear, Steve is a living nightmare, a Gordian knot of raging and libidinous impulses barely held in check by his medication. But he is her son, wrathful yet adoring, and Diane is a fighter, determined to save him against all odds. To temper the manic and claustrophobic co-dependence of this explosive oedipal duo, Dolan introduces a strange and attractive neighbor into the mix, the withdrawn and stammering Kyla (Suzanne Clément) who will try to homeschool Steve.

The movie is filmed claustrophobically in a perfect square 1:1 aspect ratio.  The film frames the faces of its characters skillfully, leading the viewer to concentrate on them rather than their surroundings.  Dolan found this to be more humble and private, more fitting to the lives being examines.  Cinemascope (2.35:1) would have felt pretentious, especially for scenes in small apartments.  There is a funny scene in the film where Steve reaches his hands around the frame perimeter and increases the aspect ratio.  This is some sort of post-modern effect no doubt and quite amusing.  Most viewers might not even notice.  It mimics Steve’s mind, offering no escape save in fleeting expansive moments.  Trish Ferris (Sight & Sound) opines It is also a clever way of demonstrating their emotional states and the reality they live in. It almost feels as if these individuals are stuck in this perfectly square box, their world opening up to full screen only during certain moments of pure joy and release, merely to have the walls slowly close in on them once more, as the certainty of life eventually catches up to them.