There are few filmmakers who see the world in quite the same way as Xavier Dolan. A young artist who grew up enamoured with the world of cinema that quickly captivated him, it’s easy to see how he was impacted by the presence of certain genres during his formative years. Inspired by the melodramas of the 1950s and the gritty, social realist independent dramas of the 1990s, he carved out a style for himself that has transcended boundaries and quickly established him as one of the most promising young filmmakers of his generation (and where his status as a wunderkind was frequently discussed when looking at his earliest works, and the fact that he had already made half a dozen films by the age many directors only started working on their first). Many consider his crowning achievement to be Mommy, and while he has made several impeccable films that demonstrate his precise artistry, extraordinary control of emotion and brilliance as both a storyteller and visual stylist, its difficult to argue against any debate that places this as his greatest work, especially if we are looking at the film as not only a single narrative, but a work of artistic expression from a young director working through several themes that tie his films together. A small but pivotal cultural sensation, and a film that took many of us off-guard when it was released, Mommy is a tremendously powerful and poignant glimpse into the director’s mind, and a film that remains as resonant and compelling today as it did nearly a decade ago. Not many directors can so effortlessly attest to being masters of their craft from such a young age, and having directed an unimpeachable masterpiece before you had even reached a quarter of a century of life is an immediate way to establish yourself as a revolutionary filmmaker, which Dolan has continuously proven throughout his career, and this film being at the heart of his acclaim.

Each of Dolan’s films are bespoke and tackles a different range of themes, making each one of them masterful, singular stories that cover several very real ideas that many of us can understand, if not completely relate towards, especially since his style is one that draws us in with an almost hypnotic command. However, once you have seen a few of his films, you start to notice certain concepts recur throughout them, which makes his body of work one that is woven together by a few key elements – whether it is addressing the inherent flaws he saw in Québécois society, or the experiences of being a young, queer man around the turn of the 21st century (which was a watershed moment in terms of both artistic representation and socio-cultural engagement with identity, which is still ongoing), there are a few ideas that we constantly see Dolan return to with every film. Motherhood is perhaps the most important theme across all of his work – every one of his films contains a depiction of the relationship between a son and his mother, whether it is merely supplementary to other themes, or the main conceptual propellant that motivates the entire story, as is the case with Mommy. This film looks at the relationship between a young man and two maternal figures in his life – his biological mother, with whom he has a tumultuous relationship that may often descend into violent hostility, but is still built on a deep level of mutual love and attachment (perhaps to a worrying degree – Dolan frames their relationship as one that goes beyond many typical depictions of the mother-son relationship, which is one of the few genuinely uncomfortable aspects of the film), and a meek schoolteacher who inserts herself into the lives of this family, helping raise this troubled young man. Motherhood takes many forms, and Mommy acts as Dolan’s fervent and passionate manifesto on this dynamic, one that is both a loving tribute and ferocious indictment of the challenges that come about within such relationships, which forms the foundation for many of the film’s most profound moments.

Motherhood is used as the framing device for a few broader and far more abstract ideas, serving as the foundation for Dolan’s exploration of his own personal quandaries. Mommy is a very unconventional coming-of-age drama, with the choice to depict the relationship between a troubled young man and his free-spirited, psychologically-unstable mother being an unorthodox choice. Normally, we tend to encounter protagonists who may have their flaws, but are still extremely endearing, and whose journey we can embrace. This is far from the case here – Dolan places us in the position of passive observers to a mother and son who are the very definition of despicable – she was clearly ill-equipped to be a parent, and he has grown to become violent, vulgar and bordering on criminal. Yet, Dolan’s style is always compassionate, and his ability to put us in a position where we feel empathy for even the most unlikable characters is one of his strongest skills. Mommy is a film that brings with it many complex ideas, and in looking at the journey of the character of Steve, who we are conditioned to dislike before realizing that he is actually just misunderstood and required some tenderness that even his own mother wasn’t able to provide to him (and thus necessitating the presence of their new friend), creates a beautiful and compelling scenario that shows us the journey that many people have to endure in order to find their place in a world that is not particularly generous to those who don’t align with the idealistic vision of family that we are led to believe are most important, when in reality they’re just another culturally-mediated convention designed to keep everyone in line with a more conventional version of what life should be, rather than allowing those who don’t fit into these boundaries to flourish on their own, which is a theme this film actively investigates through the story of Steve and his two maternal figures that do their best to help him on his journey.

Dolan is a director that has recently started to attract many very talented actors to appear in his work, particularly since his films are constructed to have very strong roles, giving many actors the opportunity to do exceptional work that they may not have had access to in the past. However, the best performances came from the actors for whom Dolan wrote many of his greatest characters, since there is a strong connection between an artist and their muses that his work has often reflected. Anne Dorval and Suzanne Clement were seasoned veterans when it comes to the director’s work – they had both appeared in multiple of his previous films, and clearly formed a strong working relationship with Dolan, who in turn crafted them some astonishing roles that saw them playing a range of fascinating characters. Mommy represents arguably the best collaboration between the trio, since not only is this Dolan’s best film, but it contains some of the best work Dorval and Clement have ever done, at least in terms of their collaborations with the director. These are challenging roles, and they evoke a sense of complexity that is integral to the success of the film. One may be inclined to believe that the title refers to Dorval’s character, as she is the mother of the main character (played brilliantly by Antoine Olivier Pilon, who brings a raw, ferocious energy that can only come from a younger actor that is clearly talented but still inexperienced, since there’s a complexity need to define the character), but she shares this responsibility with Clement, the two of them being a formidable pairing that helps keep the film afloat, allowing it to explore many complex themes without becoming too overwrought – this is the benefit of casting actors that are familiar with both a director’s process and their interests, since they pitch their performance to the appropriate level to match the themes he is exploring, rather than trying to redirect attention through their performances, which are important but merely act as vessels through which Dolan can filter his broader artistic curiosities.

Like many of Dolan’s films, Mommy is an acquired taste. It is an extraordinarily challenging film, a work that is drawn from a place of profound complexity, and driven by a director who has a very precise style which is not always easily accessible, especially for those who are newer to his work – and considering how this was one of his major breakthroughs, it’s not surprising that it is seen as a more polarizing work. However, there is very little doubt that this is a masterpiece, especially when we look at how Dolan combines a wide range of bold concepts with a storyline that is simple, but layered with complexities that elevate it beyond being a simply a trite melodrama, but instead a compelling journey into the heart of a very unconventional relationship between a mother and her son, one that is filled with as much heartbreak as it is genuine love, which is perhaps the main component that prevents Mommy from being entirely distant. Every emotion in this film feels real, to the point where it can even feel overwhelming to witness the sheer scope of this story, and how it weaves together countless beautiful and poetic moments. This is not an easy film, and there are many points where it starts to feel genuinely uncomfortable – but once we have grown acclimated to the film and its radical approach to these ideas, we can start to see the extent to which it manages to be quite profound, questioning important issues while still managing to be extraordinarily poetic and deeply meaningful. The world is so stunning when viewed through the perspective of a director with a sincere compassion for his subject matter and a deep appreciation for the smallest details of existence, and if there was ever a filmmaker who embodied this more than anything else, Dolan is certainly a steadfast contender.