Laurence Anyways

I obviously needed to watch this movie several times before writing this review. After the first look, I thought it was a draft, like a brainstorm, about being a transgender person. But eventually the movie construct itself all around this subject and approaches it in various ways. We see a lot of charcaters evolve through this, each in his own way and relation with the main character. We also follow the changes of the couple of the two main personas, who are constantly led by a deep love. This movie erects itself as a a critical view of own society, and even if it appears to take place in the 90', we see a lot of behaviors that betray the current thinking of some people. And it's all about accepting or not the way others choose to live life their own way, as different as they could be. This movie is both intellectual and emotionnal, touching and violent, confronting and despairing. In 2h48 we go through a huge palette of emotions and situations. Music, ambiance, stagings and colors are simply amazing all along. Fresh and heavy, a poetic and sharp movie to watch for everyone who is interested in the quest of truly finding oneself.

It is Canadian prodigy Xavier Dolan’s third feature, after I KILLED MY MOTHER (2009, 7/10) and HEARTBEATS (2010, 5/10), the first one he doesn’t hog a leading role for himself. LAURENCE ANYWAYS chronicles a 10 year up-and-down relationship between Laurence Alia (Poupaud), a man with GID (Gender Identity Disorder) and determines to dress up like a woman, and his girlfriend Fred Belair (Clément) from 1989 to the looming millennium. continue reading my review on my blog, google cinema omnivore.