‘I Killed My Mother’ a Cannes Directors’ Fortnight Fave
Twenty-year-old Xavier Dolan saw his debut feature, I Killed My Mother, sweep the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight awards yesterday. The semi-autobiographical film follows gay teenager Hubert (also played by Dolan) who has, shall we say, a contentious relationship with his mother. Okay, he loathes everything about her.
The awards (three in total) hopefully mean that I Killed My Mother will at least be seen outside of festivals, something any first-time filmmaker longs for. But from the sound of this Variety review by Jay Weissberg, Dolan doesn’t have to worry about being another Orson Welles:
Pages of ink will be spilled on the multihyphenate helmer’s youth (he’s 20) and precocity, and there’s much to praise, especially the oh-so-real dialogue, but true psychological penetration is lacking and Dolan’s hunger to prove his talent results in a superfluity of styles. Still, multigenerational auds worldwide will likely find kinship with the many funny/painful situations, and pic is a genuine crowdpleaser.
A crowdpleaser winning an award at Cannes? Who would have thought?
Cannes main awards ceremony, including the presentation of the Palme d’Or, will be held tomorrow night.
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