Laurence Anyways (Xavier Dolan, 2012): Canada / France

Reviewed  by Joakim Svensson, AFI Festival 2012.

This is a very colorful character driven story, circling the 10 year relationship between a man, a writer, and a woman, an artistic director, both deeply in love. Unable to suppress the woman inside of him, he decides to go publicly transsexual, this puts the characters in a very interesting situation that sets up the story for the next couple of hours on the roller coaster that is storytelling. I must say Laurence Anyways was one of the best films i have seen in a very long time and frankly i have a hard time finding anything wrong with it, believe me i have tried. Everything about this film is perfect, it needs to be said again; perfect. After seeing the almost three hour long film i was in a daze, i never wanted it to end. I had been left with so much emotions and reactions that i had no idea what to do with them when i was left sitting alone in the big egyptian theater after the screening and everyone had left. Xavier Dolan, the 23 year old director deserves his title of a prodigy, that P word that usually gets thrown around more frequently in other aspects of art but when it is used in cinema, it is carefully said. There are parts of the film where the performance from the actors and the connection they have on screen blew me out of the water, i was amazed. Without spoiling to much, there is a scene in the movie that takes place in a diner during brunch, after the female character, played by Suzanne Clément, has a breakdown angrily directed towards the annoying waitress and sits back down, the entire audience stood up and applauded the performance from the actress sitting in the front row. The whole theater knew, it does not get much better then that. The film itself ties together incredibly with spot on cinematography that dared to take the right changes and the absolutely beautiful set design in the background of a whirlwind of emotions through a perfectly written script. If you haven’t yet had the change to be astonished by the pure work of art in Laurence Anyways, please, for me and for you and everyone out there that loves cinema, you have to go see it. The actors in the film were happy to announce that they had been picked up for distribution right before the screening that night, which can only lead to more people seeing the film, so keep your eyes open for it to show up at the theater close to you and get ready to be reminded why you love movies.