Josh here, reflecting on the backlash against Xavier Dolan now he’s seen It’s Only the End of the World at the Sydney Film Festival
In what must be a true sign of success, Xavier Dolan was booed and savaged by critics at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year when his latest film It’s Only the End of the World premiered. The reaction was swift not just against his film, but against the filmmaker himself. Dolan address this, and reacted strongly to The Playlist which remarked “It's simply impossible to believe that a story this stridently self-pitying could not refer, more or less explicitly, to writer/director Dolan himself… It suggests a level of martyred self-involvement on Dolan's part that is tantamount to a persecution complex”. This was just one of many vicious reactions online and especially on twitter, against the film but then, in turn, against Dolan for defending himself against criticism.
The apparent taboo of a filmmaker reading, and responding to a critic was a major sore point. As though a critic should get the final word. It’s hard here not to recall the brilliant monologue from Ratatouille...
The bitter truth we critics must face, is that in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so.
Dolan and his films are not immune to criticism, but there was, as with many other films at Cannes this year, a licking of lips through snarled teeth about bringing films down. Booing was reportedly in full swing at the festival. Of course Dolan ended up winning the Grand Prix for his much maligned film and the vitriol was increased and spread to the jury, particularly George Miller and Kirsten Dunst.
I've seen Dolan's 1st two films so I'll prob never see another.
— Miriam Bale (@mimbale) 22 May 2016
But watching him literally whine his way to being a Cannes fav is inspiring.
The journalists in the press room have predictably little time for Dolan's tears. Lots of mocking mewling noises going around the crowd.
— Guy Lodge (@GuyLodge) 22 May 2016
I think Cannes might just have ruined Dolan forever. No chance he's going to rein it in now.
— Jessica Kiang (@jessicakiang) 22 May 2016
With the Dolan win, critics now considering a revocation of every nice thing they ever said about Fury Road and George Miller #Cannes2016
— Steven Zeitchik (@ZeitchikLAT) 22 May 2016
"I dunno. Whichever. They were all fine." - Kirsten Dunst
— Richard Lawson (@rilaws) 22 May 2016
Dolan's new BFF Jessica Chastain did come to his defence, agreeing with New York Times Mark Harris.
@MarkHarrisNYC Critics should inspire artists to evolve and grow. Bullying hobbles creativity. Its not enlightened, it's juvenile & cruel.
— Jessica Chastain (@jes_chastain) 23 May 2016
The important thing to note here is that the majority of people tweeting and retweeting about the film hadn’t seen it.
It’s Only the End of the World has been greeted by an audience at a second festival now, at the Sydney Film Festival. Once again the reaction is mixed. That is not a problem, and everyone’s response and opinion is valid. But Dolan has from the outset been a director who has swung big and made bold choices when making films, and confident film-making like that is never going to work for everyone. The personal take down of a young queer filmmaker, who despite his success has never had major distribution, awards season profiling, or been involved in a major controversy, seems bizarre. Perhaps it's a case of tall poppies syndrome, but before the poppy has had a chance to grow tall.
His latest sits comfortably alongside his other films, melodrama grounded by well-paced dialogue, and dynamite performances. As with the closeted son in I Killed My Mother, the love triangle in Heartbeats, the secrets in Tom at the Farm, and the dystopic law in Mommy, It’s Only the End of World has it’s gun in the first act set to go off; Louis (Gaspard Ulliel) returns home with the intention of announcing his imminent death. There is the familiar in these fractured family dynamics, and there is the universal is the full spectrum of emotions on display.
The big moments come crashing down with an emotional gut punch, and they’ve been earned. Marion Cotillard was highlighted as a weak link in early reviews, but that may only be because her character is the shrinking violet amongst the brutal family, and Lea Seydoux walks away with the film. Dolan's flair for musically driven montage is back again. It’s no wonder he was picked to create the video for Adele’s return mega hit Hello. They work in his masterful hands, beautifully evoking nostalgia and intangible memories.
Where this film differs is in the closeness. Both in the tightness of the frames close to the characters face that irked many at Cannes, and tight in its focus on its characters. His previous films felt small but operatic in their expanse. Here the claustrophic drama barely escapes the walls of the house; it's not a comfortable watch. The emotional gut punch doesn’t side swipe you. You see it coming from a mile away but you can only brace for the inevitable impact. It’s chaotic, melancholic and bitter. Like it’s supposed to be.
People will make their minds up about the film when its all-star cast ironically brings the film to the widest distribution his films have yet had. No, it's not the towering achievement that Mommy was, but even if the whole world hates this film, can’t we all root for the future of this filmmaker?