Laurence Anyways (2012)
Directed by Xavier Dolan

Film Review

Having established himself as French-Canadian cinema's unrivalled enfant prodige with his first two features - J'ai tué ma mère (2009) and Amours imaginaires (2010) - director Xavier Dolan plunges headfirst into artistic overload with his latest film, a ponderous account of a transsexual's search for identity which makes Pedro Almodóvar look like the very acme of restraint.  Still in his early twenties, Dolan has yet to come to terms with the limits of (a) his own artistry and (b) the indulgence of his admirers, and this is amply born out in the 160 minute indulge-a-thon that is Laurence Anyways.  With his customary modesty, Dolan has described the film as his most accomplished, accessible and moving film - others will see it as the most chaotically self-indulgent piece of kitsch melodrama that has ever been inflicted on a cinema audience.  If the film is a runaway success, it will swell Dolan's ego to terrifying Streisand-esque proportions; if it proves to be a commercial and critical misfire, it could well be the kicking that the cocksure filmmaker badly needs to deflate his ego and set him on the road to becoming a truly great cineaste.

Laurence Anyways combines the worst excesses of Fellini and Lelouch, inflating its naive artistic pretensions to a point that is way beyond the capacity of its narrative to support, but it still manages to tell a moving story whilst periodically dazzling with some fleeting touches of cinematic brilliance.  The special effects, self-consciously exuberant camerawork and florid design are all appallingly self-indulgent and yet there are times in the film when these come together and have an extraordinary poetic resonance.  The film is absolutely deluged in cultural references that range from classic French literature to pop music of the 80s and 90s, an eclectic potpourri that manages to be both tasteless and oddly alluring, not unlike a drunken peregrination through a students' hall of residence.

The film's strongest suit - indeed the only element of the film that stands up to serious critical scrutiny - is the astonishingly true-to-life central performance from Melvil Poupaud, who, as the deeply conflicted lead character, grabs our attention from the very start and compels us to stay with him, no matter what insane cinematic artistry Xavier Dolan throws at us.  Having served his apprenticeship as an actor under such distinguished filmmakers as Jacques Doillon and Eric Rohmer, Poupaud has come to be regarded as one of France's most accomplished actors, and the early promise he showed in La Fille de 15 ans (1989) and Conte d'été (1996) is fully realised in Laurence Anyways, in what is arguably his greatest screen role so far.  So authentically does Poupaud portray the turmoil of his character's predicament - that of a man who is driven to change his sex whilst being incapable of giving up the woman he loves - that it is surprisingly easy to forgive the film its stylistic over-embellishments and excruciating longueurs.

Poupaud is ably supported by a trio of three equally talented actresses, who all confound the trite simplicity of Dolan's characterisation through their arresting performances.  Suzanne Clément's gutsy, overly emotional Fred is the perfect complement to Poupaud's emotionally inarticulate Laurence, Nathalie Baye is wonderfully intimidating as Laurence's far from perfect mother, and Monia Chokri supplies some badly needed jolts of humour and humanity as Fred's sarcastic lesbian sister.  The sincerity of the performances somehow manages to shine through the ghastly superficiality of Dolan's mise-en-scène and a script that has more than its fair share of toe-curling clichés.  Dolan may lack the maturity to appreciate the subtleties of human nature and relationships, but fortunately he has a cast who are able and willing to fill this lacuna.  The thing that most counts against the film is its runtime.  At over two and half hours in length, Laurence Anyways is a challenge even for committed fans of Canada's latest film hotshot.  For those who have yet to succumb to Dolan's charms, it is an ordeal that will test your patience to the limit - far better to get hold of the DVD and watch it in two or three sittings, preferably with a strong, fortifying drink within easy reach.  Laurence Anyways is a cinema event, but it is definitely not for the faint-hearted.

Film Synopsis

Laurence is a young teacher who is in a seemingly solid relationship with his partner Fred.  Whilst Laurence is deeply in love with Fred, he is compelled to break some shocking news to her on his thirtieth birthday.  After considerable soul searching he has made up his mind to become a woman...