Laurence Anyways Reviews
Carlos M
Super Reviewer
July 18, 2012
Dolan's first misstep in his so far promising career. It is true that he had shown before a penchant for over-stylization, but now he just decided he is fabulous enough to make this incredibly pretentious, self-indulgent, artificial and exasperating exercise of style over substance.
Chihoe H
Super Reviewer
October 14, 2012
One of my favourites at this year's Toronto International Film Festival, "Laurence Anyways" is a gritty drama showcasing what it means to be constricted by societal "norms" of being a certain gender. Xavier Dolan exercises his mind, coming up with some of the most visually captivating and stylized sequences which when paired with electropop beats, produce some of the most stimulating scenes. There is style, but there is substance too. The leads, Melvil Poupaud and Suzanne Clement, are riveting to watch as they interact and feed off each other's energy. âLaurence Anywaysâ? is polarizing in both its content and its product but it succeeds more than it sinks. I haven't seen any of Dolanâ(TM)s other films, but I'll make it a point to do so now.
July 8, 2013
Four stars is I think ultimately what I'm gonna give "Laurence Anyways", if not now then sometime in the near future. It's a big movie, and like all big movies it has its peaks and valleys. Dolan is an incredible talent who very soon is going to more expertly match his heart-on-sleeve ambition with something that's more reined in. Not that "Laurence" is a bait and switch. Under all the flaws and temptation, or maybe even because of them, is a brilliant, beautiful beast.
I've heard critics say three hours is too far gone in telling a simple love story. They're right. But "Laurence Anyways", the third feature written and directed by 24-year-old Canadian wunderkind Xavier Dolan, is not a simple love story. It's one fraught with tangles and eruptions and heartbreak. In charting the ten-year relationship of on-again, off-again couple Laurence Alia (Melvil Poupad) and Fred Belair (Suzanne Clément) as both steadily adjust to Laurence's decision to live life as a woman in the decade leading up to Y2K -- and in soundtracking the film with choice cuts from the '90s likes of Depeche Mode, Visage and Craig Armstrong -- Dolan touches on everything from the everyday ecstasies and turmoils of domestic partnership, sexual liberation, ignorance, parenthood and age. Round of applause to Poupad and Clément, who harness the storms raging inside their heads without shutting us out to the raw feelings of passion, uncertainty and regret.
Four stars is I think ultimately what I'm gonna give "Laurence Anyways", if not now then sometime in the near future. It's a big movie, and like all big movies it has its peaks and valleys. Dolan is an incredible talent who very soon is going to more expertly match his heart-on-sleeve ambition with something that's more reined in. Not that "Laurence" is a bait and switch. Under all the flaws and temptation, or maybe even because of them, is a brilliant, beautiful beast.
July 25, 2013
After having seen a few of his films now, I can confidently say that Xavier Dolan is easily one of the finest directors not just of his generation, but of our time.
July 19, 2013
Laurence is in love with Fred, his girlfriend, but on her birthday he decides to let her know something he's been hiding from her all along, he wants to become a woman.
Don't expect to see Brokeback Mountain, while the movie has its overly gay moments, its easy to understand what the character is feeling. He fears how people will react, but he/she stands his ground and does what he wants.
From the opening scenes we get a glimpse of director Xavier Dolan's talent, with filmmaking style similar to early Spike Lee, Godard, and Scorsese. Then after a while it seems like a little too much, what could've been a more intimate film about what it feels like to be rejected gets a little too long and pretentious.
The soundtrack is great though. I have no doubt that this will be talked about a lot and that Xavier Dolan is one to look out for and all, but for now he's just okay.
I'd recommend it to anyone who liked "Magnolia", "Cloud Atlas", "Vivre Sa Vie", and/or "La Haine".
From the beginning, I could tell "Laurence Anyways" had potential, but the characters were just too conceited for my liking. It does have plenty of style that would impress even the most avid of film lovers though.
Laurence is in love with Fred, his girlfriend, but on her birthday he decides to let her know something he's been hiding from her all along, he wants to become a woman.
Don't expect to see Brokeback Mountain, while the movie has its overly gay moments, its easy to understand what the character is feeling. He fears how people will react, but he/she stands his ground and does what he wants.
From the opening scenes we get a glimpse of director Xavier Dolan's talent, with filmmaking style similar to early Spike Lee, Godard, and Scorsese. Then after a while it seems like a little too much, what could've been a more intimate film about what it feels like to be rejected gets a little too long and pretentious.
The soundtrack is great though. I have no doubt that this will be talked about a lot and that Xavier Dolan is one to look out for and all, but for now he's just okay.
I'd recommend it to anyone who liked "Magnolia", "Cloud Atlas", "Vivre Sa Vie", and/or "La Haine".
June 30, 2013
there is no need of stylization in such a beautiful story...nor the need to extend it to a point in which we believe it's going to be over for more than three times..but still better than his past one.
April 2, 2012
An audacious movie, treating about marginality and its impacts on our little bit conservative society. Really liked it, the actors were all great, and the movie had something innovative, like all Xavier Dolan's movie, ah ce cher Xavier Dolan, réussit toujours à présenter quelque chose de nouveau et d'exceptionnel, Laurence Anyways est probablement, parmi ses 3 films, le plus audacieux et celui amenant aux plus de questions morales et propres à chaque individu. The only thing was that the movie was really long, I was never bored, but some little things were unnecessary...
filmlover1994
June 25, 2013
I Only Speak The English-Language.
sam g.
June 24, 2013
A great step forward in Dolan's career after making two average at best films.
Michael H.
February 18, 2013
I had low expectations after being unimpressed and, frankly, bored by HEARTBEATS, but this time Xavier Dolan grabbed me and kept me entranced through most of the longish running time of LAURENCE ANYWAYS. That may be in part because I found Suzanne Clément as Fred so enchanting but even excepting my mild infatuation, the movie tells its story with grace and panache.
January 6, 2013
A very complex love story about an on-off relationship and the revolution of transsexual in the late '80s that reaches all aspects of the definition of love. Two hours and forty something minutes were worth to know that the sky is the limit for young filmmaker Xavier Dolan. The cast was also excellent especially Suzanne Clà (C)ment & Melvil Poupaud as Laurence.
December 23, 2012
Um filme que apesar de um pouco longo é muito bem executado, e não vai de deixar entediado, isso porque a direção esperta de Dolan consegue criar momentos de respiro entre a tensa trama, com tomadas e trilha sensacionais.
Destaque para Suzanne Clement que deveria ter sido lembrada nas temporadas de premiação, sua Fred é sem dúvida a "vítima" do filme, forçada a decidir entre seus desejos ou o de Laurence, era um jogo onde só dá pra perder.
Recomendo!
Ele é um cara que não quer ser um cara, ela uma mulher que precisa de um homem e é aí que a história começa a engrenar. Assim como em Blue Valentine, Laurence Anyways vem pra provar que só o amor as vezes não é suficiente, e que um final feliz requer bem mais do que isso.
Um filme que apesar de um pouco longo é muito bem executado, e não vai de deixar entediado, isso porque a direção esperta de Dolan consegue criar momentos de respiro entre a tensa trama, com tomadas e trilha sensacionais.
Destaque para Suzanne Clement que deveria ter sido lembrada nas temporadas de premiação, sua Fred é sem dúvida a "vítima" do filme, forçada a decidir entre seus desejos ou o de Laurence, era um jogo onde só dá pra perder.
Recomendo!
November 23, 2012
The film is a fabulous journey, whose lenght is necessary to describe such a hard decision; you can't convey that much feelings in less time. It's beautiful, passionate, fascinating and incredibly moving.
November 19, 2012
While it is indisputable that Xavier Dolan is veritably a prodigy when it comes to mixing artistic visual style with cool, hip soundtrack, his third feature film, running at 160 mins, also shows his weakness as a storyteller. Despite a believable and well-acted romance, the film oftentimes feels redundant. The film only skims through the subject of identity and marginal society, focusing more on the romantic aspect which works at first but drags on for too long. Suzanne Clement gives such a wonderfully explosive performance that her character outshines the lead, and in fact, I find her side of the story more interesting than Laurence's. All in all, Dolan unapologetically revels in the hip aspect (the visual and soundtrack) of the film that he seems to forget to have an editing eye.
Chihoe H
Super Reviewer
October 14, 2012
One of my favourites at this year's Toronto International Film Festival, "Laurence Anyways" is a gritty drama showcasing what it means to be constricted by societal "norms" of being a certain gender. Xavier Dolan exercises his mind, coming up with some of the most visually captivating and stylized sequences which when paired with electropop beats, produce some of the most stimulating scenes. There is style, but there is substance too. The leads, Melvil Poupaud and Suzanne Clement, are riveting to watch as they interact and feed off each other's energy. âLaurence Anywaysâ? is polarizing in both its content and its product but it succeeds more than it sinks. I haven't seen any of Dolanâ(TM)s other films, but I'll make it a point to do so now.
October 11, 2012
The director is only 23, and there is so much that is inspiring about this movie that the totality is more than its flaws.
