Mommy (2014) Inflicts Major Issues

Xavier Dolan’s 2014 coming-of-age drama Mommy, takes the spotlight, shines in on the rocky relationship between a mother and son duo, paints the achingly beautiful story in a delicately crafted 134 minutes, and leaves you feeling emotionally suffocated by the end.

A widowed mother Diane, or Die, is in the midst of a financial struggle when her son Steve is sent home from a school for troubled teenagers after he intentionally sets the cafeteria alight. The two’s relationship faces various rocky stops as Steve’s violent outbursts, unpredictable mood changes, anger issues, and ADHD weighs on top of Die’s money problems and inexperience in finding the proper ways of approaching him. As the fractured family of two tries to scrape their way into a healthy and stable environment, the subtle battle becomes much easier when their neighbor Kyla takes an important place in the picture. Having been the victim of a breakdown a couple of years prior, Kyla now suffers from constant stammering — being unable to communicate the way she pleases. The three seek comfort in each other as the mother and son’s bond becomes healthier with Kayla being the glue, and Kyla gradually makes progress in overcoming her speech disorder. However, as the healing moments escalate, they also die down. Permanency is never wholly a guarantee.

Probably one of the reasons that Mommy has that gut-wrenching, suffocative quality mastered, is the story not holding anything back. Steve’s disorders and inability to stabilize his emotions are portrayed to the rawest extent. I think, at this point, it’d be acceptable to say Antoine Olivier Pilon’s, Steve, acting here is immaculate. The contrast created by the abrupt fits of rage and violence, and his sweet and lovable attitude are transparent in Pilon’s facial expressions. It’s possible to literally watch him reach the state of losing control over his emotions — and it’s quite the nerve-wracking experience, I must say. It’s not hard at all to empathize with Die; she’s not the only one to feel the intimidation of constantly being on the edge of your seat. The fact that we know he suffers from disorders does little to nothing in feeling his smothering hand reach out of the screen and squeeze you on the throat. You can practically cut the unpredictability of abusive dynamics here with a knife.

Another feature of the film to emotionally asphyxiate the viewer is a directorial choice by Xavier Dolan: the changes in aspect ratio. The majority of the film is shot and presented in a 1:1 ratio. In theory, it may not be as cramped up as it really is, considering how familiar we are with square footage and photos constantly circulating on social media. However, as the film progresses, it’s not peculiar at all to feel squished between two mentally burdening walls, coinciding with what the characters are going through. When happier moments surface, we see the frame widening to cover the screen — giving us room to breathe, finally. The contribution aspect ratio alone can make is mind-blowing.

The first enhancement of the screen is done by Steve as he uses his hands to give the illusion of him literally widening the scene. It feels so eerily natural that I can’t decide if this falls under breaking the fourth wall. With "Wonderwall" by Oasis playing in the background, the skateboarding scene gives the impression that something like this was bound to happen. This particular moment of utter joy just had to fill the cold and bitter sections of the screen. Otherwise, the compression of the heart wouldn’t be bearable.

Scenes with the 1.85:1 frame ratio are very admirable. The music choices, the warm color schemes, and the fond expressions on the fragile three’s faces; are all remnants of hope. The music choice can get a bit too 2013 for my current taste but for a coming-of-age film released in 2014, I guess it’s inevitable. They still fit perfectly, though, and leave you in a similar state of faint and dreamy peace as the characters portray. It almost feels like the ache caused by the preceding minutes had a previously set goal to help you join in on the therapeutic properties of love, even if it’s short-lived.

Many have Mommy in their favorites list, as do I, and it’s all within good reason. Xavier Dolan is purely laudable for the way he granted visual life to a story that could have easily been a miss instead of a heart-shattering hit. Mutual dependencies, cravings for affirmations... Gathering up hope, expectancies, and dreams that you cherish just so you can be crushed once more under the brutality of reality... Mommy touches on it all. Being courageous enough to fight sadly doesn’t guarantee the specific freedom you constantly find yourself daydreaming about. Free souls come in all forms, shapes, and sizes. The chilling ending scene, consider this a spoiler alert, is of Steve discovering another type of freedom in the halls of what some people may call a dreary nightmare.