Mommy

Parental Rating: R

Contains: Language    Violence    Adult Content    

Jill's Review

Opens January 30, 2015

Runs 139 minutes

This is a French Canadian drama about a Mother and her relationship with her unstable, sometimes violent, son. The movie begins with Diane "Die" Depres (Anne Dorval) picking her teenage son up from yet another juvenile institution. Steve (Antoine-Olivier Pilon) has been kicked out for starting a fire in the cafeteria that has injured another child. Her only options are a detention facility, one step below jail or taking care of him herself. She opts to take him home with her.  They are obviously close but their relationship feels very dangerous. He is too forward with her and he is very volatile. When they meet their timid neighbor Kyla (Suzanne Clement), Die begins to feel like she has a friend to help her face her situation. But of course, Kyla has troubles of her own. Together, they forge a friendship. Kyla begins to come out of her shell and Die feels hope for the future. But, there is always trouble lurking around Steve and eventually hard choices will have to be made before it is too late.

This is an intense movie. The actors are fantastic. You can't take your eyes off of them. And, the way the movie is filmed is very interesting. It is like it was filmed on a cell phone for most of the film, very claustrophobic and tight - like their lives seem to be with very few options. It is unique and you quit noticing it after a few minutes, until later in the film when it goes full screen for a little while. Very cool. There are a lot of unanswered questions in this movie but that just makes it more watchable. You can't help but wonder what you would do in a similar situation. If you like great foreign films, this is for you! Go see it.

Movie Search

Find a movie by name, genre, or ranking.