There are many imperfections in this film.
The first one is the conflict between mother and son. I believe we have all seen me killing my mother, so for this plot, I actually don’t like it very much. I know Dolan is trying to shape his tragic experience of youth, but why do I repeat that I killed my mother again, and It’s not a different starting point. Why can’t the family’s misery be viewed from the perspective of my father and other family members? Even if there is a suspicion of copying me and killing my mother, it’s better than repeating it again and again.
The second is that Maxim's love for Matthias is not adequately expressed. Throughout the film, you will find that there are many foreshadowings suggesting Matthias’s love for Maxim. For example, he has been reluctant to mention that he had kissed Maxim, and he was very resistant to kissing Maxim when filming the movie. After the filming, I was exhausted from the swimming tour, because Maxim was about to go abroad and was absent-minded at work. He didn’t tell Maxim when he got the recommendation letter. He and his girlfriend had a big quarrel in the car because of the film and saw it in a restaurant. A person who looks like Maxim will be surprised, worried, and disappointed. Even when he sees the decline and abandonment of the flowers in the boss’s office, it can be said that everything implies that Matthias loves Maxim. However, I did not see that Maxim loves Matthias so much. Perhaps Maxim really loves Matthias, but as far as I can see, his love is better than Maxim's His seems not enough. Fortunately, the difficulty of kissing in the second half of the film and Maxim's crying scene finally made me feel that Maxim also loves Matthias.
Third, for the handling of the ending, this approach seems a bit tricky in my opinion. Or many Lan didn't want to create a pure be or he, or Duolan was purely to avoid trouble, or Duolan was to leave room for the viewer to think. However, this kind of treatment seems to be the best, but it always gives me a slight sense of loss.
Maybe you are curious about why I have five stars after I said so many shortcomings?
I don't know photography or editing. However, at least I know Dolan did what he said. Dolan has always been committed to weakening his sexual orientation and the element of homosexuality, so that when the public is watching, what he thinks about is not his orientation, but more general love, affection, friendship, etc. From this point of view, he avoided dealing with the relationship between Matthias and his girlfriend, because if they were to deal with it, they were destined to break up, after all, I didn't see any love. His personal feelings gathered in Matthias, let the public understand the pain of the self-awakening process of an ordinary person who loves the same sex. This can be seen from the outburst of Matthias in the party at the end of the film and his relationship with Mark Sim's painful refusal to endure after kissing can be seen. It can be said that Duolan has actually done things that many directors who make same-sex movies have not done, and that he is always the one who knows himself best. We are just one of the most ordinary members of lgbtq, but why do we have to label ourselves? As everyone knows, the label will form a stereotype impression after a long time. In Dolan’s movie, you don’t even see the sexual orientation of the characters. Who can be sure that Matthias is gay, just because he loves Maxim? So is he bi, is he straight? We don't know that this is what makes Dolan different from other directors. Removed the label, and only gathered two men in love facing the pain of being separated, helpless. This may seem ordinary, but it is not the most common experience that all beings in the world will face.
It is true that Dolan’s I Killed My Mom and Double-sided Lawrence are even better. However, I think that few directors can do the same as Dolan when shooting the most common subject matter. It's not that Dolan has no talents, but that the public are looking forward to the Dolan they want to see, but they ignore that Dolan is not destined to become the Dolan in their eyes.
Some people say that Dolan is eager for quick success, because of the pressure to become famous when he was young. But, isn't he really your wishful thinking about quick success? What do you know?
I did five stars because I am a fan of Dolan, otherwise I might only give four stars because this film is not perfect. But I want to say that this film deserves five stars because it conveys what Dolan wants to express.
I wrote a film review because I saw several film reviews criticizing this film, and I think Dolan deserves better. I really want to say that you guys really like to attract people's attention.
There is no doubt about Dolan's talents. How many people can integrate director, screenwriter, and actor like him, but maintain their true qualities to convey what they want to convey without being burdened by foreign objects?
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