Mommy

This year, Canada’s Oscars

entry comes from young, gay director Xavier Dolan. His fifth film, Mommy, sees Dolan sticking with his love of strong female characters. It’s the story of a widowed French-Canadian mother struggling to make ends meet while managing the explosive temper of her troubled, 15-year-old son with ADHD. Both mother and son find a friend in a next-door neighbor, sympathetic because she’s also a mother. All three leads are excellent, and Antoine-Olivier Pilon (the son) is a promising newcomer, lending his character a potent charisma that attracts the audience despite the accompanying chaos. Dolan’s direction remains playful, especially his heartfelt and well-incorporated use of popular music. The film is a bit long at 139 minutes, but it’s consistently engaging and ultimately soaring. THE WORD: While not as distinctly spicy, Dolan’s work increasingly resembles that of another iconic gay auteur: Pedro Almodóvar. COMING TO: Theaters

By Jonathan Roche