Laurence Anyways is the third film by the young prodical gay director Xavier Dolan. I have to say this is by far his weakest. This is FAR too long than it needs to be (2 and a half hours) and a little self indulgent. It deals with the issue of how a relationship changes when one admits that they want to change their gender identity. The first half captures the story extremley well and maybe he should have stopped there but throughout the film there are flashes of brilliance in the newly typical style of Xavier Dolan.
I am actually going to focus on Dolan more than this film because I am so inspired by his direction. In case you have not heard of him, he has two other films: I Killed My Mother and Heartbeats and he is only 24 (bastard). He manages to capture the traditional French cinema (he is from Quebec) with his own version of artistic brilliance. Small moments of colour and sound contrast well with typical continental picture and he delivers queer cinema in a completely unique way while maintaining the accessibility of his features. He manages to stay clear of any Pedro Almodovar comparisons as his films are 'gay' rather than 'camp'
I cannot rate him high enough. If you compare him to where Almodovar was at the same point of his career he could have an amazing future. I am hoping Laurencce Anyways is a small blip.
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