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The Death and Life of John F. Donovan finds writer-director Xavier Dolan flailing at profundity with a technically assured drama that never makes sense of its own ideas.
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All Critics (28) | Top Critics (8) | Fresh (6) | Rotten (22)
It's far from perfect, but still manages to be a fascinating attempt at exploring sexual identity, isolation and the consequences of fame. January 7, 2020 | Full Review…
It's far from perfect, but still manages to be a fascinating attempt at exploring sexual identity, isolation and the consequences of fame.
Marc Ricov
Convoluted gay-identity drama drags; drug abuse, smoking. December 19, 2019 | Rating: 2/5 | Full Review…
Convoluted gay-identity drama drags; drug abuse, smoking.
Tara McNamara
Its spectacularity is almost asphyxiating, but... each frame is also an excuse to plunge into the euphoria of its drama. [Full review in Spanish] December 18, 2019 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…
Its spectacularity is almost asphyxiating, but... each frame is also an excuse to plunge into the euphoria of its drama. [Full review in Spanish]
Aitor Salinas
"The Death and Life of John F. Donovan" is a potentially powerful story, though one not successfully told in the slightest by Xavier Dolan. December 14, 2019 | Rating: 1.5/4 | Full Review…
"The Death and Life of John F. Donovan" is a potentially powerful story, though one not successfully told in the slightest by Xavier Dolan.
Joey Magidson
Intended as a complex examination of the emotional toll of celebrity, this drama instead feels as shallow and pretentious as the characters it portrays. December 13, 2019 | Full Review…
Intended as a complex examination of the emotional toll of celebrity, this drama instead feels as shallow and pretentious as the characters it portrays.
Todd Jorgenson
From its contrived structure to its forced speechifying, this story... never acquires the emotional potency or coherence its themes demand. December 12, 2019 | Full Review…
From its contrived structure to its forced speechifying, this story... never acquires the emotional potency or coherence its themes demand.
Jeannette Catsoulis
In any case, what remains of John F. Donovan is a barely coherent mess, and so eager for your approval that it's hard to feel anything but sorry for it. December 11, 2019 | Rating: C- | Full Review…
In any case, what remains of John F. Donovan is a barely coherent mess, and so eager for your approval that it's hard to feel anything but sorry for it.
Mike D'Angelo
Dolan's most conventional film, and consequently the dullest. [Full review in French] August 28, 2019 | Full Review…
Dolan's most conventional film, and consequently the dullest. [Full review in French]
Kevin N. Laforest
Even for someone like me who admires Dolan, the finished film is a bit of a mess. But it's kind of a beautiful mess, one that still has the power to be affecting. August 23, 2019 | Rating: C | Full Review…
Even for someone like me who admires Dolan, the finished film is a bit of a mess. But it's kind of a beautiful mess, one that still has the power to be affecting.
Karen Gordon
The three-story narrative is the film's biggest misstep, by giving short shrift to what should have been the whole point of the film - the titular "death and life" of the main character. August 23, 2019 | Full Review…
The three-story narrative is the film's biggest misstep, by giving short shrift to what should have been the whole point of the film - the titular "death and life" of the main character.
Chris Bumbray
A film with a fair bit to like within its shaggy, unwieldy construction, but not enough to outweigh the fact that Dolan's latest is an unqualified mess. August 21, 2019 | Rating: 4/10 | Full Review…
A film with a fair bit to like within its shaggy, unwieldy construction, but not enough to outweigh the fact that Dolan's latest is an unqualified mess.
Andrew Parker
As flawed as it is, the film occasionally shines through its gloomy atmosphere with an attempt at defining the unfair cost of passion. June 6, 2019 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…
As flawed as it is, the film occasionally shines through its gloomy atmosphere with an attempt at defining the unfair cost of passion.
Marie-Célia Cannenpasse
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