For whatever reason, Xavier Dolan‘s Laurence Anyways has not yet been granted the attention it deserves. I saw the film at Cannes where it was included in the Un Certain Regard selection and where co-star Suzanne Clement won Best Actress and the film won Queer Palm. No, that’s not enough attention.
The film left Cannes without a distributor and made its way to Toronto where it won Best Canadian Feature Film and yet it wasn’t until the end of October that it managed to find a distributor in Breaking Glass Pictures. Good for them, too bad for everyone else that passed because this is a fantastic film and this clip below offers one example of just how great Clement is as Fred Belair, fiancee to Laurence Alia (Melvil Poupaud) whom has told her he wants to become a woman.
The clip below plays later in the film and I like that it’s shown largely out of context in that you don’t know what came before the scene, but I think you can pick up enough from the images provided and the dialogue (or in this case monologue) as to what has taken place.
As for my thoughts on the film, here is the opening paragraph from my Cannes review which you can read in full right here:
My cinematic introduction to writer/director Xavier Dolan was one I couldn’t have expected. I’d heard plenty about I Killed My Mother and Heartbeats and, after seeing Laurence Anyways, I regret not having seen either. I was floored by Dolan’s cinematic control; the power displayed in his musical choices, the imagery, his use of color, his instincts as to when to go experimental, when to dial it back, when to go handheld and more. With the confining walls of shooting in 1.33:1, Dolan delivers a film that on the surface is about a transsexual coming into his own in the mid-’90s and the obvious issues that arise, but deep down it’s about the difficulties with love we all experience.
…and here’s my praise for Clement, in which I mention the scene featured in the clip below…
So often in a film like this a writer will forget to tell the story of the people a decision like this affects beyond the person making the decision. In this case Fred is in the line of fire, taking plenty of weight on her shoulders as well, weight that is lifted in one brilliant coffee house scene about midway through that brings to light all the frustrations and worries she’s had to deal with since deciding to stand at Laurence’s side. There are several such game-changing scenes, but this one stands out above all the rest and Clement deserves every ounce of attention we can give her.
Now check out the clip where you’ll find sadness, anger, worry, frustration, love and more in the eyes and face of Clement. We may be talking about a bunch of other actresses for Oscar this year, but this serves as just another reminder that the Oscars aren’t always looking at the “truly” best.
